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MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell (1917).
■
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
B Y
REAR-ADMIRAL
GORDON CAMPBELL
REAR-ADMIRAL WILLIAM S. SIMS
AND AN INTRODUCTION BY
ADMIRAL SIR LEWIS BAYLY
K.C.B., K.C.M.G., C.V.O.
ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
AND SKETCHES AND DIAGRAMS BY
LIEUTENANT J. E. BROOME
R . N .
V . c . ,
D . S . O .
WITH A FOREWORD BY
U.S.N.
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, DORAN & COMPANY, INC.
1929
COPYRIGHT, 1028, 1929
BY GORDON CAMPBELL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT
THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS
GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
FIRST EDITION
DeNOL REBINDING COMPANY
3957 ST. CLAIR AVENUE CLEVELAND 14, OHIO
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A
PREFACE
Ever since the war I have been asked from time to
time to write a book or tell my experiences. I have
refrained from doing so on many grounds, but two
of my chief reasons for not doing so now no longer
exist, owing to my removal from the active list, and
the fact that ten years have elapsed since the war.
I have now set out to tell in plain English and in
my own words the experiences of myself and my
crew in the mystery ships in which we served, giv-
ing an idea of why we set about the job, how we
set about it, the general sort of life we led, and the
encounters we had with the enemy, both success-
ful and unsuccessful. I have felt it a duty to place
on record the experiences my crew went through,
as they were the only ones who, not only once, but
twice, succeeded in sinking an enemy submarine
after their own ship had been torpedoed. It must
not be imagined that ours were the only mystery
ships, as there were quite a number, and I espe-
vii
viii
PREFACE
cially think of those that went to sea never to re-
turn and others that were damaged or sunk and
whose crews, by extraordinary patience and perse-
verance, finally got back to harbour. The U. S. S.
Santee, the finest mystery ship I ever saw, was one
of these. Manned by a splendid crew, she was tor-
pedoed, and though every effort was made to get
the submarine the chance never came, but the
ship was got back into harbour.
There are several books written which contain
accounts of the various actions fought, and so I
have only attempted here to describe my own
experiences and thoughts; and in expressing what I
think of the very gallant crew I commanded I am
not unmindful of the fact that many another mys-
tery-ship captain would say, and for similar rea-
sons, the same of his.
Whether my book satisfies the curious or causes
disappointment, I hope the various fantastic yarns
which have been associated with my name will now
be laid at rest.
I should like to express my thanks to Vice-
Admiral Sir H. W. Richmond, K.C.B., who was,
I think, the first British naval officer to propose
mystery ships in the Great War, for the assistance
he gave me with some of the historical quotations,
and to various members of my old crew who have
PREFACE ix
reminded me of incidents which I might otherwise
have let slide, for, beyond my reports, I have had
no diary to guide me.
Gordon Campbell.
United Service Club, Pall Mall.
June 7, 1928.
FOREWORD
In most of the talks that I have given before
various audiences in America, the questions most
frequently asked concerned the Battle of Jutland
and the operations of the mystery ships. Both have
been largely misunderstood by the public, the
former because of the technicalities involved, and
the latter simply because the nature of their ac-
tions was necessarily kept as secret as possible, as
their success depended upon decoying the enemy
submarine within gun range.
As knowledge of the existence of such vessels
gradually leaked out, many writers exercised their
imaginations in describing their actions. The result
was of course many weird tales which, though in-
teresting enough, were largely inaccurate both as
regards the special equipment of the ships and
their methods of decoying and engaging the U-
boats.
Fortunately Admiral Campbell has finally con-
sented to tell the true story of these very remark-
able exploits. No British officer is more competent
to do so. Three of the eleven submarines decoyed
xi
xIi FOREWORD
to their destruction were accounted for by vessels
he commanded. None of the battles of the 180-odd
Q-boats were more thrilling than those whose
success was due to his ingenuity in disguising his
vessels, his thorough training of the personnel,
his inflexible patience in the long and monotonous
hunts, and his gallantry and skill in the final ac-
tions.
The mystery ship's method was to allow herself
to be torpedoed and then unmask her guns and
destroy the submarine. These encounters were
"battles to the death." Of all of these Captain
Campbell's last one, in which he lost his ship and the
submarine escaped, was of such a remarkably
desperate character that I was inspired to write the
gallant captain the following letter:
" I have just read your report of the action be-
tween the Dunraven and a submarine on August
8th last.
"I have had the benefit of reading the reports
of some of your former exploits, and Admiral
Bayly has told me about themall;but in my opinion
this of the Dunraven is the finest of all as a military
action and the most deserving of complete success.
"It was purely incidental that the sub escaped.
That was due, moreover, to an unfortunate piece
of bad luck. The engagement, judged as a skilful
FOREWORD xm
fight, and not measured by its material results,
seems to me to have been perfectly successful, be-
cause I do not think that even you, with all your
experience in such affairs, could conceive of any
feature of the action that you would alter if you
had it to do over again. According to my idea
about such matters, the standard set by you and
your crew is worth infinitely more than the destruc-
tion of a submarine. Long after we both are dust
and ashes, the story of this last fight will be a
valuable inspiration to British (and American)
naval officers and men — a demonstration of the
extraordinary degree to which the patriotism,
loyalty, personal devotion, and bravery of a crew
may be inspired. I know of nothing finer in naval
history than the conduct of the after-gun's crew —
in fact, the entire crew of the Dunraven. It goes
without saying that the credit of this behaviour is
chiefly yours.
"With my best wishes for your future success,
believe me, my dear Captain,
"Faithfully yours,
"Wm. S. Sims."
CONTENTS
I. DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES ... i
The German Attack on Commerce — An Old
Device — Types of Disguises
II. THE UNSEEN ENEMY i9
U-Boat Methods— On the Offensive— Mys-
tery Ship Tactics
III. TO PLAY THE GAME 31
My New Job— Tramp Steamer by Profession
— Strange Use for a Hen Coop — Disguises
and Dummies
IV. MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY . 52
Beards and Old Clothes— Outer Slackness
and Inner Discipline — Dress Rehearsals —
"Panic Party"— Each at His Post— Exit the
Loderer
V. "LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 76
"Ready Now, Sir" — Hazards of Acting —
Poteen — The Invisible Eye — Winter Practice
in the Atlantic— Gale off the Irish Coast
VI. THE "FARNBOROUGH'S" FIRST FIGHT . 99
Waiting Our Chance — Near-by Submarines —
Dawn of March 22nd — Torpedo! — First Test
of Discipline — We Destroy the U-68 — Mys-
terious Visit of the C.-in-C— Praise from the
Admiralty
xv
XVI
VII.
IX.
X.
CONTENTS
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH 118
Second Encounter— Dutch War Drama-
Success? — Tragedy and Humour — Reward
for Labours
VIII. CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER . 136
Alarms— Sinister Thirteenth Day— We Inter-
cept the Enemy— The Quarry— A Bad Shot
— Open Season for Submarines
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC I5S
A Cargo of Coal— Submarine Patrol in the St.
Lawrence— The Too-thorough Inspector—
Over-secrecy — A German Raider
TORPEDOED l7b
Back to the Old Hunting Ground— An Ex-
plosion—A Slight Misunderstanding— The
Anxious Q-S— "Torpedo Hit"— Flooded out
—Sticking It— Sinking by the Stern— The
Ship's Cat— Reported Lost— Attempted Sal-
vage— "Mystery V.C."
XI. NEW PREPARATIONS 203
S.S. Vittoria— Tramp— The Dummy 12-
Pounder— The Old Crew— The Secret of the
Name— Visit of Admiral Sims— An American
Mystery Ship
XII. VICTORY AND THE VICTORIA CROSS 222
A Rescue— The Events of Latitude 51° 50' N.,
Longitude n° 50' W— Miraculous Escape
—Submarine Breaks Surface— Successful
Decoy— Four Minutes' Action— Sample
Prisoners— " High Commendation"
H.M.S. "DUNRAVEN" ...... 243
Fitting out — Important Innovations — Pan-
tomime Drill
XIII.
CONTENTS
xvii
XIV. "THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" ... 260
Gunfire Attack — Coming Events — "S OS"
— Fire Reopened — Dangers of Rescue — The
Frightful Survey — Identity Revealed — A
Sporting Chance — "Q Abandon Ship" — Try-
ing Moments — Shelled — Only a Periscope
XV. WITH COLOURS FLYING 282
"We've Done Our Bit"— Rudderless— Chiv-
alry of the Sea — End of the Dunraven — ■
— Ordeal — Enemy's Point of View — High
Honours
SUMMARY
APPENDIX
302
3i3
ILLUSTRATIONS
Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell (1917) . Frontispiece
Facing Page
Cartoon of the Master 56
"Panic Party" 72
Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell on Bridge of the Farn-
borough at Sea, Lieutenant Nisbet Behind Him. . 88
H.M.S. Q-5 After Being Torpedoed and Sinking the
Submarine. The Water Can Be Seen Breaking over
the Ship's Stern and Gun House 188
H.M.S. Q-5 After Being Beached, Showing the Appear-
ance from the Bridge at High Water 196
Q-5 After Being Beached, Bow View 200
Q-5 After Being Beached. Stern View, Showing Guns
Being Salved 200
The Master and Officers of the Par gust. Left to Right:
Grant, Loveless, Campbell, Bonner, Byrd. Back
Row: Andrews, Stuart, Hereford, Nunn, Nisbet. 216
H.M.S. Pargust in Dry Dock, After Being Torpedoed
in the Engine Room 236
H.M.S. Dunraven, Showing Splinters on Bridge After
Being Shelled. Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell Is
Seen with Pipe in Mouth and Lieutenant Hereford
with Back Turned. The Splinters on Lower Bridge
Deck Are Against the " Armour" ...... 264
xix
XX
ILLUSTRATIONS
H.M.S. Dunraven in Tow of the Destroyer Christopher . 280
H.M.S. Dunraven, After the Action, When the Crew
Were Still on Board. Seas Breaking Over the After
Part, the Open Hatches Can Be Seen, the Covers
Having Been Blown off by the Explosion of the
Torpedo 2&4
Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell and Crew of H.M.S.
Dunraven on Paying off. Lieutenant Bonner Is on His
Right and Lieutenant Loveless on His Left. . . 296
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
Disguised as Women Down to Their Waists . ... 13
Farnborough Showing Position of Guns and as She
Normally Was 47
Showing the Various Disguises Which Might Be Used . 47
Mr. Mate and the Carpenter Going on the Fo'c'sle to
Anchor 65
A Grimy Stoker Would Appear from the Stokehold,
Shouting and Yelling 69
A Small Open Boat with Four Men in It . . . . 126
They Could Spin Any Yarn They Liked . . . . 132
Laying at Anchor 133
All Ready for the Action with the Raider .... 138
Plan of Chasing a Submarine . 145
"He Destroyed It a Couple of Days Ago" .... 169
"Don't Talk So Loud; He'll Hear You" .... 187
The Crew of the Dummy Gun 214
Become Part of the Deck 215
Submarine Shelling at Long Range 221
Plan of Pargust's Action 229
Submarine Breaking Surface 230
xxi
xxii ILLUSTRATIONS
The Submarine Finally Sank with a Man Clinging to
the Bows" 233
Diagram of Dunraven's Poop Internally .... 248
Plan of Dunraven's Poop on Deck 249
"So Long, Old Cock" 258
INTRODUCTION
BY ADMIRAL SIR LEWIS BAYLY,
K.C.B., K.C.M.G., C.V.O.
Perhaps one of the most dreadful sights in the
war was the arrival on shore of numbers of women
and children saved from a ship torpedoed by an
enemy submarine. Half-clothed, wet and cold,
many of the women did not know whether their
children were saved or not, and many had lost all
they possessed.
The situation was probably unique in history:
two countries at war, each unable to continue the
war if its sea communications were entirely cut off,
and each country approaching exhaustion owing
to the sea communications being severely lessened
by enemy action.
But the methods of action in this respect were
very different on the two sides.
England declared a blockade, seized all ships
trying to pass the blockade, and sent them into
harbour for examination; the enemy sent out
submarines to sink all ships proceeding to their
enemy's ports, leaving the crews and passengers
to save themselves or drown.
xxiii
xxiv
INTRODUCTION
Nations differ from individuals, in that a man
may be attacked, and, finding himself at the last
gasp, will use every means that he has at hand to
prevent his being killed. A nation, on the other
hand, cannot be entirely wiped out, and if heavily
defeated can sue for peace, and then, by everyone
in the nation working together under wise govern-
ment, can eventually rise to its former strength.
There is, therefore, no excuse for the defeated na-
tion to use inhuman methods with a view to be-
coming the victor in a war. If nations will not
accept this statement when defeat looms close to
them, then, as science advances and more terrible
methods of killing and injuring people become
possible, we shall see in the future a combat of
devils, with all feelings of humanity cast aside.
And when a nation uses inhuman methods in
war, the country opposed to it has to decide
whether to hit back in the same way or to find other
means of curbing and preventing these horrors,
which if allowed to continue unchecked would cause
the latter to lose the war, and to have thousands
of its people killed or terribly injured for life.
The sinking of merchant ships by enemy sub-
marines was a serious loss to England's fighting
efficiency, and from that point of view was a fair
method of attack by the enemy; but killing or
INTRODUCTION
XXV
injuring the crews and innocent passengers was
inhuman, and roused the country to a pitch of
righteous anger, as it did also other countries
(neutrals and allies) which lost their subjects in
this style of so-called warfare.
It should not be inferred from these remarks
that all submarine commanders were inhuman or
brutal. They had their strict orders, and endeav-
oured to carry them out, but many of them did
what they could for the people in the torpedoed
ships by telling them the direction and distance
of the nearest land, etc.
Thus England had to face an entirely new
method of warfare, and to discover some means
of combating it with success.
Curiously enough, although convoys were always
used on the main trade routes during the Napole-
onic wars, they were not introduced in the 1914-
1918 war until the loss of ships had become very
serious.
In past days sailing ships making long voyages
through waters where enemy ships were likely to
be met were frequently painted to look like frigates,
and were fitted with wooden guns; and this dis-
guise won many a ship safely through, as small
cruisers dared not attack them. Commodore
Dance in a merchant ship, with three other sailing
xxvi INTRODUCTION
ships in company, made such a brave show in the
Indian Ocean that an enemy squadron sighted
them and sheered off, thinking them too strong to
be attacked.
In the 1914-1918 war this system was reversed,
and ships appearing like peaceful merchant ships,
but with real guns hidden until a few seconds before
opening fire, or more frequently opening fire the
instant the guns were disclosed, cruised on the
trade routes hoping to encounter an enemy sub-
marine so that they might attract her attention,
and then when the submarine came to the surface
to sink her because of heavier armament.
And since the submarine was always ready to
dive, even with the loss of some of her crew, who
might not have time to get below before the
hatches were closed, there were only a few seconds
during which the disguised ship could get her
screens down, her guns in position, and a fire
opened. These ships had, therefore, to open fire
immediately and to fire very accurately, a matter
which necessitated a very great amount of practice
beforehand, and a most rigid discipline, as one
officer or man making a mistake would give the
show away, in which case the submarine would at
once submerge and then sink the ship with a
torpedo.
INTRODUCTION
xxvii
Although there have been books written about
mystery ships, as these disguised ships were called,
giving a general description of the methods of fit-
ting them out and using them, the real story of the
life on board them and the thrilling stories of
attacks on and by submarines have not before
been told by one who played a principal part.
This book describes with complete accuracy, and
in a most interesting way, the life on board, and
gives a full description of the discomforts, diffi-
culties, and dangers of this method of fighting sub-
marines, as well as the attractions this form of
service had for men of independent spirit, daunt-
less courage, and a very strict sense of duty.
Many people have thought that mystery-ship
work was a species of buccaneering, enabling those
on board to lead a sort of free-and-easy life, except
while engaging a submarine or being attacked by
one. Nothing could be farther from the fact: disci-
pline and readiness for immediate action were
as strict as that on board the smartest man-of-war,
from the moment of leaving harbour until safe
within the harbour on return.
At any moment at sea a submarine might be
watching the ship, and one false step would lead
to the ship being torpedoed, and those in her left
to try to save themselves, or be taken prisoners,
xxviii INTRODUCTION
instead of the submarine being sunk had the
necessary care been taken by everyone in the ship.
Submarines operating in British waters usually
carried a man who had been a North Sea or Chan-
nel pilot, or who had served on board a British
merchant ship, and who was, therefore, thoroughly
conversant with the latter and its appearance.
These matters are all described by Admiral
Gordon Campbell in his book — a book which will
enlighten its readers as to the heroism, wonderful
patience, and self-control shown by all who served
in these mystery ships.
Admiral Gordon Campbell served under my
flag in mystery ships from October, 1915, to
August, 1917; starting as a lieutenant-commander
R.N., he ended that part of his career as a captain
R.N. with a V.C. and three D.S.O.'s.
He had a genius for foretelling where a sub-
marine was likely to be found, and what its further
movements were likely to be; a born leader of men,
with a wonderful sense of his duty to his country,
life and honours seemed to count nothing to him,
provided he could find and attack a submarine,
and it is safe to say that, apart from his attacks,
he created a moral atmosphere which caused sub-
marines to be far more careful in attacking ships,
and thus enabled many to escape. His difficulties
INTRODUCTION
xxix
were increased, owing to his headquarters (Queens-
town, South Ireland) containing many spies doing
what they could to damage England's endeavours,
and where every ship and movement were closely
watched. In consequence he was as careful not to
reveal his activities when on shore as he was when
at sea; he kept from mixing with people in clubs
or public resorts, and probably the only times he
let himself go were at Admiralty House, where he
frequently came for a rest. The only time we came
near to a disagreement was when I told him that as
a captain R.N. at an exceptionally early age, with
the honours His Majesty had given him, he must
give up the dangerous game of mystery shipping
and must take up the ordinary duties of a naval
officer in war, as such an officer could not be easily
spared from the country's service.
Among the thirty odd mystery-ships' captains
who served under my flag, he was the only one who
could stand the strain of mystery-ship work over
about a year and ten months in succession.
It is a very great satisfaction to me to be allowed
this opportunity of drawing attention to the story
of a very brave and able officer's activities against
the country's enemies.
Lewis Bayly.
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
CHAPTER I
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES
The German Attack on Commerce — An Old Device-
Types of Disguises
The Great War produced many inventions, rap-
idly developed many weapons which were yet in
their infancy, and brought into use forms of war-
fare which had either been unforeseen or only fore-
seen in the minds of men with great vision, who
were generally ridiculed at the time for having
them; just as now we have those who foretell how
future wars will be entirely fought in the air and
how whole towns and even countries will be de-
stroyed by poison.
Before the war the submarine was a weapon
which led to much discussion: some foretold how
the Power that had submarines could destroy whole
armadas; others said that the submarine was so
vulnerable that a rifle-shot was all which was re-
quired to hit her periscope and destroy itl The
fact remains that the submarine became one of the
most, if not the most, important weapons during
the war, and what was called the Submarine Men-
ace loomed very large in the many big problems of
the war. Apart from other considerations, I don't
i
2 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
think many people realized how far away from their
base submarines could or would operate. I remem-
ber, one Sunday afternoon in the English Channel,
when on patrol in my destroyer, I received a wire-
less message that a submarine had passed through
the Straits of Dover. This was one of the first war
thrills we had had, and I passed the word round
with a caution about an extra smart lookout, but
I feel sure hardly a man aboard believed me. They
only thought it was a scare to liven them up. The
idea of a German submarine breaking through the
Straits seemed too incredible to them.
What, exactly, was the Submarine Menace? The
fact that submarines could, under certain condi-
tions, such as daylight, calm weather, and within
easy reach of their base, torpedo and sink men-of-
war was well known; and it was also well known
that if suitable precautions were taken, if ships
steamed at high speeds or alternatively were es-
corted by high-speed vessels, then the chances of
success on the part of the submarines were remote.
Men-of-war may have been lost because speed was
not available and escorts were not supplied, or
for other reasons, yet this was but a reminder of the
power of the submarine, and was not a menace to
the country. If harbours had proper defences, such
as patrol craft outside and booms at their entrance,
then the ships could lie in safety and no submarine
could enter. That important harbours were not so
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES 3
defended is well known, and the defect was reme-
died— rather late. On the whole, although some-
thing of the power of the submarine was realized,
yet it was under-estimated, and it is a well-known
fact that the Grand Fleet of Britain had to leave
its base at Scapa Flow because the defences against
submarines were not sure.
THE GERMAN ATTACK ON COMMERCE
I have no intention of entering on a discussion of
International Law, nor, at this time of the Peace, the
question of humanity, but for the purposes of this
book it is only necessary to state as a fact that
Germany decided to use her submarines to attack
and sink our commerce, the life-blood of the British
Isles, the source of supply to the Grand Fleet in
the North Sea and our armies in France. This
was something entirely new. For long, long years
Great Britain had been dependent on her com-
merce, and as long as she is an island this must
always be so, whether it be by sea or air. Because
the protection of commerce at sea was a recognized
part of every government's policy, it was essential
to the very existence of our island. This protec-
tion depended, to a large measure, on cruisers to
protect our commerce against other cruisers or
armed liners and raiders. But here was something
different: our commerce was subject to attack,
to be sunk by a torpedo before any signal for help
4 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
could be sent or any escape could be attempted;
liners, tramps, fishing craft, men, women, children,
were all at the mercy of an "unseen enemy." This,
then, was the Submarine Menace.
The severity of the German attack on commerce
varied from time to time according to their policy.
Starting rather mildly in 1914, it went through
varying stages of intensity; sometimes "danger
zones" were declared, at other times neutrals were
to be spared; but eventually, on February 1,
191 7, the Germans declared what was known as
the intensified submarine campaign, which meant,
roughly, that any and every ship was liable to be
torpedoed and sunk without warning. To show the
seriousness of this menace without quoting a lot
of statistics, one has only to look at the figures for
April, 1917— over 545,000 tons of British ship-
ping were sunk, and together with allied, neutral,
and fishing craft the total came to 875,000 tons.
This was the worst month, but the sinkings had
been going on since September, 1914, slowly but
surely. It looked at one time as if the submarine
would win the war, since it would have been im-
possible for the country to have continued to sus-
tain such heavy losses of shipping. How was this
menace to be dealt with? I do not intend to deal
with all the many methods employed, such as
mines, nets, auxiliary patrols, hunting flotillas,
hydrophones, aircraft, depth charges, destroyers,
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES 5
submarines, and the surest and best method of all
— 'Admiral Keyes's, when he blocked the subma-
rines in at Zeebrugge so that they couldn't come
out.
All the methods I have just mentioned were
offensive ones. They set out to destroy the sub-
marines, or to prevent their coming out, which was
the only way of stopping the menace. But nearly
all these methods, except our own submarines,
which of course could go anywhere the enemy sub-
marines could go, were more or less confined to
coastal work. This was good as far as it went, but
the enemy submarines went farther — they were to
be met anywhere between Archangel and New
York, Gibraltar and Port Said — in other words, in
waters too deep for mines and in areas too far
afield for the auxiliary patrol, which did such ex-
cellent work during the war, to function.
Until the great step was taken of bringing in
the convoy system we read so much about in pre-
vious wars, the merchant ships outside of coastal
waters were almost entirely dependent for safety
on their own defensive armament. They might oc-
casionally get a chance of ramming, but this was
not frequent; and by zigzagging, making smoke
from specially constructed smoke apparatus or
smoke floats, or following certain routes, they could
reduce their chances of being attacked. As fast as
guns could be produced every merchant ship was
6 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
defensively armed. (How gallantly they used their
armament whenever they got a chance is a story
in itself.) The chances were rather remote of a
submarine being sunk by the single, and, generally,
very small gun, which a merchant ship carried.
In fact, I don't think any submarines were actually
destroyed by gunfire from merchant ships, since
the submarine always had the advantage of being
able to keep out of range, or alternatively to dive.
The idea was therefore conceived of fitting mer-
chant ships as men-of-war, with a specially trained
crew aboard and a concealed armament strong
enough to destroy a submarine if encountered. To
all intents and purposes they would look like or-
dinary innocent merchant ships, and would there-
fore entice the submarine to them.
This class of ship went under various titles. Their
real function was decoying, and the proper title
would, therefore, appear to be "decoy ships,"
but it was not secret enough. The Admiralty in the
early days referred to them as "special service
vessels," and the ships themselves were known in
the dockyards and so on as S.S. " — — ." The fact
that a number of people in and about the dock-
yards and naval ports knew that the master of
S.S. " " was a naval officer, that special guns
and gadgets were being fitted, and that no one
except on duty was allowed on board, naturally
gave ground for their being referred to as "mys-
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES 7
tery ships." I think for quite a long while many
people did not know on what duty these vessels
were really employed, although of course some must
have suspected.
Toward the latter part of 1916 the Admiralty
gave them all "Q" numbers, and they became Q-
ships. This at once appeared to reduce a large
amount of the secrecy of them, because, whereas
"special service vessel" and "mystery ship" are
terms which have been applied to all kinds of craft,
from battle cruisers downward, the term "Q"
was only applied to "decoy ships," and, in conse-
quence, nearly everyone knew that H.M.S. Q-i
was a decoy ship, just as they knew that H-i
was a submarine. During the war "mystery ship"
was applied to the "Glorious" class of ship, the
dummy battleships, monitors; in fact, everything
new that had no details published, but whose ex-
istence was roughly known, became a "mystery
ship," and might therefore be anything. It was the
title I liked best, and is the one that is used in some
history books referring to similar craft in bygone
days. The "Q" title didn't last very long; in fact,
I only had to use a "Q" number for a few months,
when names were reverted to; but the mischief
had already been done, and Q-ships became a well-
known title.
It must not be imagined that the mystery ships
were any invention of the war, as attempts to de-
8 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
coy the enemy are as old as can be. The hoisting
of false colours is a long-standing practice, and it is
only natural that enterprising officers would go a
bit further and disguise their ships and think of
additional ruses. An illustration of this was the
famous German cruiser Emden, with her false
funnel and friendly ensign, when she made her
attack at Penang.
Only a few years before the war, Lord Charles
Beresford, in command of the Channel Fleet, de-
luded his own squadron at night by arranging the
lights of his battleship to make her look like a
merchant ship.
AN OLD DEVICE
It may be of interest to refer to some more
historical cases of the use of mystery ships, the
chief difference being that in those I shall refer to
the ships were built as men-of-war, and their
captains rigged them and acted so as to make
them appear as merchant ships, and to be good bait
for the corsairs. In the Great War the mystery
ships were either already merchant ships and fitted
internally as men-of-war, or they were specially
built to look like merchant ships.
In 1672 a case is recorded of a Captain Knevet,
in command of the Argier, disguising his ship "by
housing his guns, showing no colours, striking even
his flagstaff, and working his ship with much ap-
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES 9
parent awkwardness," thus deceiving a Dutch
privateer off Aldeburgh.
In 1799 we read of a Boulogne corsair coming up
with what she thought was a powerful merchant
ship; her appearance, the cut of her sails, and the
way they were set all led to this belief. But as the
corsair was running alongside, the batteries were
unmasked, and she found herself at the mercy of
a disguised cruiser with twenty-four guns.
In another case, in 1803, a French corsair was
operating in the North Sea and came across an
English ship, which aroused the Frenchman's sus-
picion by her shape and the appearance of her can-
vas. The Frenchman acted cautiously, and dis-
covered she was a brig trying to imitate a merchant
ship in order to decoy him closer, so he at once
made sail to escape.
In the Life of Admiral Mahan there is a letter
he wrote as a midshipman in 1861 suggesting that
a decoy ship be used to deal with the sea-rover
Sumter. In order to reduce suspicion, he suggested
that a sailing vessel be used for the purpose.
One of the most interesting proposals for mys-
tery ships is contained in an unsigned letter which
appeared in the Naval Chronicle of 181 1 (Vol.
XXV):
Dear Editor,
At a period when our commerce suffers such injury from
the enemy's privateers, it is the duty of everyone, if he has
10
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
any idea of a means by which this loss may be prevented, or
materially lessened, to communicate it. Conversing with a
person who had visited the Continent, he mentioned to me
that, a few months since, he was accidentally at Boulogne,
when his attention was drawn by several groups of people
in earnest and melancholy conversation. On investigating the
cause, he found that two of their privateers had that morning
returned, one with a loss of twenty-eight and the other ot
thirty-six men; that they had in conjunction attempted to
board a merchant brig, which instead of being charged with
their expected plunder was conveying troops of some descnp-
tion,who, rising unexpectedly, made that carnage among them.
Nothing, my informant says, could equal the dismay and
distress that prevailed among this description of people, and
that some time elapsed before they could again man those
vessels.
I confess this information made a great impression on me,
from its seeming strongly to corroborate an idea I had long
entertained of the practicability, if not of annihilating, at
least of greatly reducing the number of the enemy s priva-
teers; and, in the number so reduced, of producing that cau-
tion and delay which might possibly facilitate the escape oi
some of our vessels. .
The plan which has often engaged my thoughts is that
two or three merchant vessels, having as little as possible the
appearance of ships of war, or armed vessels, each having on
board such a number of men as may be considered sufficient,
well trained to the use of the musket and rifle, should be kept
sailing on such parts of our coasts as are most infested by
privateers, and that when attacked by the enemy under a
conviction of their being private vessels, in their favourite
place of boarding, our men (who might easily keep themselves
to this period in concealment) might, without difficulty,
give them such a lesson as that which the two privateers I
have before mentioned received.
The system of attack on privateers of the description that
infest the narrow parts of the Channel, to be effective, must
be by boarding, as in any other they might be kept in bay by
a single 12-pounder.
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES n
That some inconvenience may attend the execution of
such a project I can conceive, but I am not aware of any at
all commensurate with the benefit I should anticipate from
it. This kind of service may be said to be full of hazard and
danger, and that those engaged in it cannot be rewarded by
the capture of the enemy's vessel.
With regard to its danger, I think it would only have
enough to take off the tedium of the service. I imagine it
would not in reality be great. The vessel's bulwarks might be
made musket-proof, and during the short period of attack
our men would be engaged under so many advantages, that
the hazard could not be of great consideration. To compen-
sate them for having a miserable, mutilated crew in possession
of their vessel, they might be handsomely rewarded for each
vessel repulsed that attacked them. As soon as it was conjec-
tured that the enemy would be able to particularize the ves-
sels in question, they might be either new painted or changed
for others with little inconvenience.
It is curious how near this letter comes to a de-
scription of our mystery ships in the Great War.
It is quite obvious, then, that the idea of trying
to decoy an awkward enemy did not originate in
the Great War; but whereas most of the previous
examples appear to have been actions taken on
the initiative of the officers commanding "on their
own," during the Great War the mystery ship
became part of the Admiralty policy; though it is
quite clear that the freer the hand given to an
officer commanding such a ship, in selecting her,
in fitting her out, and in his methods of fighting,
so much the better. No hard-and-fast rules can be
laid down, or textbooks produced, as to the meth-
ods of fighting or the "bluff" to be used. It must
I2 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
be entirely in the hands of the captain of such a
ship. Secrecy was a matter of the most vital im-
portance, and here again a captain of a ship might
think of some new form of decoying his enemy,
but it was not always wise to let anyone outside
of the ship know anything about it. A captain, to
carry out his intentions, might want a special class
of ship or some special gadgets, and so it would
appear the soundest scheme to select the officer
considered suitable for the job and then let him
find and fit his own ship with as much carte blanche
as possible.
TYPES OF DISGUISES
The German submarines' attack on our com-
merce included everything, from liner down to
innocent fishing vessel— nothing was spared. And
some of every class of vessel were fitted as mys-
tery ships in consequence: liners, tramp steamers,
semi-passenger steamers, coastal steam colliers,
steam trawlers, schooners, barkentines, ketches,
smacks, luggers, and convoy sloops. The liner type
of mystery ship only had a short life, as it was ex-
travagant, and could not easily be spared for the
service.
It was rumoured that the captain of one of the
liner decoy ships asked for a party of extra men, as
he pointed out it was necessary for part of his dis-
guise to have some "ladies" as passengers. The
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES 13
reply he got was approval, provided the men were
only disguised as females down to their waists!
Whether the yarn is exactly true or not, the idea is
quite sound, as whatever you pretended to be had to
be done thoroughly or not at all. In the same way a
fishing smack should
have a cargo of fish, live
or dead, on deck to
make her " smelly " and
attract the seagulls, as
one invariably sees the
seagulls hovering round
the fishing craft return-
ing to harbour.
These mystery ships
had a great advantage
over the many other
anti-submarine vessels
in, that, except for the
smaller type and fish-
ing smacks, they could
operate anywhere; and
these, together with our
own submarines, were the chief offensive meth-
ods outside of coastal waters. It is true that the
destroyers did take offensive measures outside of
coastal waters, but unfortunately there were not
enough of them. They were such a useful class of
vessel that everybody wanted them, from the
DISGUISED AS WOMEN DOWN
TO THEIR WAISTS
I4 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Grand Fleet downward, and there were never
enough to go round. In consequence, they were
generally tied down to escorting a particular ship
or convoy. And I should think they were the hard-
est-worked ships in the war, for on them depended
to a large extent the safe arrival of the great con-
voys in England and France. A disadvantage they
suffered was that they did not carry sufficient coal
or oil to allow them to stay at sea very long, but
they had the great asset of speed, which enabled
them rapidly to close the enemy and drop depth
charges.
The sailing decoy ships, such as the famous ship
Prize, a schooner of 227 tons, commanded by Lieu-
tenant Sanders, V. C, R.N.R., were a very attrac-
tive type, as somehow or other a sailing vessel
always looks such an innocent thing, dependent on
the elements of nature to take her from place to
place, sometimes making fair speed and sometimes
becalmed. The Prize was fitted with an auxiliary
engine, which enabled her to get to the place she
wanted to under cover of darkness without too
much delay. But her very size and propelling
power naturally limited her radius of action.
All types of mystery ships were necessary and
useful, but I think the most useful type of the lot
was the good old tramp steamer, which could go
anywhere, be seen anywhere, and had a sea-going
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES 15
capacity of anything' up. to twenty-four days. It
is the most common type of ship met with at sea,
and, carrying as it dee;? from 5,000 *0, xo,oco tons
of cargo, it was just what the - submarines most
wanted. Every other type of craft, except the tramp
mystery ship, had limitations to its sphere of ac-
tivity. The liner would be out of place on certain
routes; the smaller craft were naturally confined to
certain areas, both by virtue of their calling and
their stowage of fuel; even our own submarines
were hampered to the extent that arrangements
had to be made for their safety.
In the early days of the submarine warfare
mystery ships were used rather sparingly, and it
was not till 1916-1917 that they appeared in any
large numbers, and by that time some of their use-
fulness had already gone. It is fairly obvious that
if you are going to try deception on anyone, the
greatest secrecy is necessary, and once you have
been bowled out, the other party is forever sus-
picious. And so with the mystery ships (and, I be-
lieve also, the Tanks), they were used in small
numbers at first; but owing to unsuccessful actions,
the fact that we had mystery ships became known,
and when produced in large numbers the best
opportunities had passed, and success for the mys-
tery ship became extremely difficult.
The first two mystery ships to be fitted out
834 41 4
l6 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
were the British -ship Victoria and .the French ship
Marguerite— both at about the same time, Novem-
ber, 1914- •
One of the great difficulties of mystery ships was
to keep their existence secret, especially during
the fitting-out period. This was perhaps not so
difficult for the ships fitted out at Scapa by Fleet
labour, as there was not a great deal of mixing
with other ships; but when it came to fitting out
in a dockyard port in the south, it became a far
more difficult matter, as I will relate later, because
it was obvious that a large number of people must
be in the know.
A variation of what might be called the plain
mystery ship was a combination of a mystery ship
and a submarine, the two working together, with
either the submarine actually in tow submerged
and connected by telephone to the surface ship,
or acting in company by a prearranged system of
signals. The idea in this case was for the surface
ship to attract the enemy submarine, and then, on
communicating with our own submarine, the latter
would go off and torpedo the enemy. This method
secured the very first success of "decoy" on June
23, 1915, when the disguised trawler Taranaki,
under the command of Lieut.-Com. H. D. Edwards,
was towing submarine C-24, under the command
of Lieut. F. H. Taylor. They were cruising off Aber-
deen, when a submarine U-40 was sighted. Diffi-
DECOYS AND DANGER ZONES 17
culty was experienced in slipping the tow, and
eventually C-24 had to make her attack handi-
capped by having the tow rope hanging from her
bows and the telephone cable foiling her propellers,
but she succeeded in torpedoing the enemy. This
success was followed soon after by another on July
20, 191 5, when the trawler Princess Marie Jose,
under the command of Lieutenant Cantlie, R.N.,
was towing submarine C-27, under the command of
Lieut. C. C. Dobson, R.N. They met a subma-
rine, and whilst the Marie Jose was engaging in
action, C-27 slipped the tow and torpedoed the
enemy submarine U-23.
The first success scored by a mystery ship on her
own was on July 24, 191 5, by the Prince Charles,
a small coastal steamer of some 400 tons, com-
manded by Lieut. Mark Wardlaw, which sank her
submarine off Roma Island. She was one of the
vessels fitted out at Scapa. This was followed by
two successful actions of the Baralong in August
and September, 1915.
At the time I started on this service in the Lo-
derer there were only two of us for working in the
Atlantic and approaches to the Channel, the other
one being the Zylpha, commanded by the late
Lieutenant-Commander Macleod. Two smaller
ships joined a little later, the Vala (Lieutenant-
Commander Mellin), and the Penshurst (Com-
mander Grenfell). This latter, a tramp steamer
x8 my mystery ships
with the funnel aft, was one of the best mystery
ships of the lot, but was unfortunately lost in a gal-
lant action when Lieutenant Naylor was in com-
mand.
All four of us were " tramps," the Loderer and the
Zylpha being ships about 3, coo tons and the Vala
and the Penshurst about 1,000 tons. The only sur-
vivor of this quartette was the Loderer, but they
all played their part in helping to cope with the
great menace.
In the following chapters I am going to give my
own experience of this form of warfare, and al-
though I have been able to quote here previous
successes, yet, at the time, I knew nothing about
them, and had only heard the vaguest yarns of
"mystery ships" being in existence.
To find the inventor of mystery ships one must
obviously go back to 1672, or even to the days
when Eve decoyed Adam.
CHAPTER II
THE UNSEEN ENEMY
U-Boat Methods— On the Offensive — Mystery Ship
Tactics
Before attempting to describe the methods em-
ployed to bring about the destruction of the enemy
submarine by mystery ships, it is as well to explain
briefly the former's capabilities, limitations, and
their various methods of attack on merchant craft.
Many types of submarines were used, differing
greatly in size, radius of action, and other details.
They were classed as U-boats, U.B. or U.C., and
carried numbers i, 2, 3, etc. They all carried
torpedoes and nearly all carried a 4.1-inch gun.
The U-boats were the largest ones: they could go
nearly anywhere, in fact were submarine cruisers,
and eventually carried two 5.9-inch guns in addition
to torpedoes. It was this class of boat which visited
New York, Madeira, etc. The U.B.-boats were a
smaller type which operated chiefly in the North
Sea, and the U.C.-boats were those that mainly
carried mines, which were laid around our coasts,
but they also went quite far afield to use their
torpedoes.
19
2o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
A torpedo, nicknamed a "tin fish," is a won-
derful under-water weapon, running on its own
power of air and carrying a large charge of high
explosive. It would be aimed at the ship, and if
successful in hitting (depending on many details
I do not intend to go into) it would make a hole
some forty feet square; and in the case of an un-
protected merchant ship would in all probability
cause her to sink, according to her size, cargo, and
build. The torpedo, travelling through the water
some ten to twenty feet under the water, would
leave a bubble track on the surface. This, if seen
in time, would frequently enable a ship to avoid
the torpedo, as the torpedo once fired would (or
should) maintain a straight course. Just as you
can dodge a brick coming at you if you see it in
sufficient time by turning one way or the other, so
could a steamer dodge a torpedo. For that reason
a submarine would fire from as close a range as
possible, though he would have to be careful not
to get so close as to run the risk of damaging him-
self by the resulting explosion or of being rammed,
both of which sometimes happened.
U-BOAT METHODS
The submarine has the great power of invisibil-
ity, which enables her to make an unseen attack
or to make a rapid disappearance if discovered;
but in her role of an unseen assailant she could
THE UNSEEN ENEMY 21
only attack a ship with torpedoes, her sight being
given her by the periscope, which would be above
the water for such length of time as was required
for making her attack. By revolving the periscope the
submarine could see distinctly all that was going on
around her; but the officer looking through it would
be able to look in only one direction at a time. This
is important to remember. A mystery ship, not
knowing in which direction such an officer was actu-
ally looking, always had to assume he was looking
in all directions. If the periscope was sighted,
which would be likely only under ideal weather
conditions, and a shot fired at it, the chances of
its being hit were practically nil, as it looked
like a small spar sticking a foot or two out of the
water, and even if a lucky shot got it, it made no
difference to the submarine, as a second periscope
was available.
ON THE OFFENSIVE
Another form of attack was by gunfire, but to
carry this out meant that the submarine would
have to come to the surface and expose her con-
ning tower and upper-deck casing, but not neces-
sarily her pressure hull — her most vulnerable part.
The target would still be very small and difficult
to hit. On first coming to the surface, a submarine's
conning tower would be closed, and probably her
pressure hull would be just under water. The only
22 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
target worth hitting would be the conning tower,
and, unless hit by the first round or so, she would
be able to dive in seconds and get away. Even if
the conning tower was hit by the first shot, it did
not necessarily destroy the submarine, as a water-
tight door at the bottom of the conning tower could
be closed and the submarine remain watertight.
Before the submarine could open fire with her
gun, it of course had to be manned, and this meant
that the lid of the conning tower had to be opened
to enable the crew to get along the deck to the gun,
and for this purpose she would have to come right to
the surface. Now, this condition laid her more open
to destruction: the target was a better one, a hit
on the conning tower might prevent the lid being
closed and the submarine submerging, and the con-
fusion likely to be caused by the gun's crew rush-
ing back and getting inside again would give the
attacked ship a longer time to fire. Even under
these conditions the hits would have to be ob-
tained within a minute or so. A case occurred dur-
ing the war where the conning tower had been hit,
the captain and others taken prisoners, yet the sub-
marine managed to get back home, the lower door
presumably having been closed and the men on
deck sacrificed. This case will give some idea of
the difficulty of actually destroying a submarine by
gunfire.
A third method of attack a submarine could
THE UNSEEN ENEMY 23
make on a merchant ship was to come to the sur-
face, order the ship to stop, and then, after order-
ing the crew to their boats, bombs set with time
fuses could be placed on board or the inlets to the
sea opened. This, of course, could be done only if
the ship was unarmed.
As this book deals chiefly with the submarine
attack on trade outside the North Sea, we need
only follow the proceedings of the U and U.C.
types. It is sometimes imagined that submarines
continually cruised under water and seldom came
to the surface during their voyages from their home
ports to their ambushing positions. This is quite
incorrect; in fact, they seldom submerged on pas-
sage, and never if they could avoid doing so, be-
cause of the submarine's great limitation, elec-
trical power. Her means of propulsion when sub-
merged are electric motors run off large storage
batteries, which are extremely heavy and bulky
for their power and life. In consequence, they are
constantly requiring to be recharged, which neces-
sitates the submarine being on the surface. When a
submarine is submerged, it is almost impossible
to get such a perfect trim that she will keep her
depth without using the motors. Thus, unless the
submerged submarine is lying on the bottom, she
is constantly drawing on her vital reserves of elec-
tricity. When these are gone, she is compelled to
come to the surface to recharge her batteries. Even
24 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
when lying on the bottom— and this is only pos-
sible in certain localities and in fairly shallow
water_a certain amount of electric current would
still have to be used for lighting, cooking, and
heating.
It will be seen, therefore, that a submarine would
remain on the surface as long as she could, and on
her voyage to and from her hunting ground she
would not be greatly affected by the limitations
referred to since at night and nearly always during
the day she would cruise on the surface. As soon as
she sighted anything by day, she submerged until
the danger was past. The exhaust gases from the
Diesel engines are let out below the surface of the
water, and cause practically no smoke to give her
away; on the other hand, the submarine could
always locate a surface craft by the telltale smoke
over the horizon long before she was herself sighted
—always provided a good lookout was being kept.
Thus it was practically impossible to deal with
enemy submarines on passage from one place to
another, if they wished to avoid detection, except
by such means as mines, or in areas such as the
Irish Sea and Dover Straits, when hunting flotillas
could harass them and make them draw on their
vital electricity.
It is true they were sometimes sighted when on
passage, or their presence might be given away by
the use of. wireless; but all reports of "sightings,"
THE UNSEEN ENEMY 25
especially of periscopes, had to be treated with a
certain amount of suspicion, unless confirmed by
something authentic. It is extraordinary how many
"periscopes" you think you see when day after
day you are straining your eyes looking for them:
casks, wreckage, navigational buoys, whales, black
fish, our own M.L.'s, and the American chasers — in
fact, nearly everything was reported at some time
or another as a "conning tower" or submarine.
MYSTERY SHIP TACTICS
The mystery ship's best chance, therefore, would
be to cruise in the places where submarines were
operating, and not waste much time on an odd
chance during their passages. These places gener-
ally would be on the main traffic routes, the en-
trance to the English Channel, and focal points.
When the convoys started — which meant that
nearly all ships had destroyer escorts on approach-
ing land — it was advisable to get farther afield,
but this will be referred to later.
We will now assume that the submarine com-
mander has got into the traffic. He would probably
have a fairly large area in which he intended to
operate, since on each occasion of his attacking a
ship, whether successfully or otherwise, he would
know that signals reporting his presence would be
sent out. This would have two effects : to bring pa-
trol craft to the spot, and to divert other ships from
26 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
the locality. So for these two reasons he would go
elsewhere, to avoid being harassed and to have a
chance of getting the diverted ships. Therefore
it was no use for a mystery ship to go to a place
where a submarine had been: you had to go on a
track you thought she might be going to. When
operating, she would still keep on the surface as
much as possible, not only for the reasons already
given, but also to increase her arc of visibility.
Nevertheless, she would, at any rate in daylight,
be trimmed ready for an instant dive. On sight-
ing smoke, her first move would be, as before,
to dive to periscope depth, about twenty-three feet.
In this condition the whole of the boat, pressure
hull, gun, and conning tower, was, of course, in-
visible, and the submarine could either raise one
or both of her periscopes above the surface a few
feet or lower them below it.
When the steamer came over the horizon, the
first thing the captain of the submarine wanted to
discover was what she was, her course and speed.
Unless the course of the steamer was going to take
her fairly close to the submarine, there was no
hope of getting in an attack by torpedo; this was
because the speed of the submarine when sub-
merged would be very slow, perhaps not more than
4 or 5 knots, and she would want to get inside of
2,000 yards to fire. However, if things looked fa-
vourable and the quarry was coming well down
THE UNSEEN ENEMY 27
toward the ambush, the submarine would ma-
noeuvre to get a few hundred yards away from the
track the steamer would pass by, and then await
the right moment. In the meantime, the periscope
would be raised for a few seconds at short inter-
vals, to check the steamer's course and speed, as
accurate knowledge of this was essential if the tor-
pedo was to be sent off to hit it. The fact that the
periscope need only be used for a few seconds at
a time made it extremely difficult for the steamer
ever to sight it; and on the other hand, if the
steamer was zigzagging, especially with a good
turn of speed, the submarine could not easily gauge
the course. If all went well from the submarine's
point of view, the torpedo would be fired when the
victim was nearly at her closest. A second one
would probably be fired if the first missed.
It will be realized that a submarine might have
to wait quite a long time before a ship was sighted
that was on a suitable course and going at a suit-
able speed to enable her to get in a torpedo attack.
There were other objections to torpedo attacks.
The number of torpedoes carried was very limited,
so, if a submarine commander depended entirely
on his torpedoes, he would have had a long trip
from his home ports to the Atlantic and back, with
perhaps very little to show for it, as by no means
all the torpedoes that were fired made hits.
Another consideration for the submarine com-
28 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
mander would be that, especially as the cost of
torpedoes runs into four figures, he would have to
give an account of his raid on his return home,
and if he had torpedoed a ship which had sunk
at once, he would have no proof. The best proof to
take home would be the ship's papers, and these
could be obtained only by coming to the surface
and taking them from the master, who would be
in the boats, or, better still, unless the submarine
was overcrowded, the master himself could be
taken. It will be brought out clearly later on how I
made use of human weakness always to want proof.
In the event of the submarine coming to the sur-
face for this purpose, she would probably be in
full surface trim, with her ballast tanks empty of
water, and therefore in her most vulnerable condi-
tion, one hit on the pressure hull being all that was
required for her destruction.
The submarine attack by gunfire had the ad-
vantages that she would be on the surface, and
therefore in favourable weather would be able to
go at as good a speed as the average surface mer-
chant ship, and could overtake the slow tramp and
sailing vessel. If the ship was unarmed, there was
nothing to fear, and it would be soon reduced to
abandoning ship; if the ship had a defensive gun,
it would then be necessary to keep out of range, and
as the defensive guns increased in size so the sub-
marine guns increased, and the large submarines
THE UNSEEN ENEMY 29
which came out at the end of the war with their
two 5.9-inch guns were a very serious problem.
Had they come out earlier, defensively armed ships
and mystery ships would have required 6-inch
guns. By the time they did come out the mystery
ships were nearly dead.
The last method of attack referred to — that of
putting bombs on board or opening the valves —
was, of course, the cheapest in every way, and was
frequently used at one time. The submarine or-
dered the ship to send her papers over first, but,
as already mentioned, the submarine had to be
sure the ship was unarmed. The method therefore
soon became obsolete except perhaps for neutral
ships.
It will be realized from the foregoing that when
the secret of the mystery ships became known, the
submarine had to think twice before coming up
to ask for papers or fire her guns, and the mystery
ship's attempt to decoy her also became more
difficult, which will be clearly brought out later.
The methods employed by the ordinary mer-
chant ship when steaming alone, which were, of
course, used as necessary by the mystery ships,
were, in the first place, to attempt to ram, but this
was done only if the submarine was definitely mak-
ing an attack on the ship, and such opportunities
were very rare. If the ship was unarmed, the only
thing to do was to attempt to escape by steaming
3o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
away, if possible head to sea, so that if the sub-
marine followed she would have difficulty in firing.
Even if armed, attempt at escape would be the
best way to safety, as the submarine invariably
had a better range than the steamer and most
certainly a better target. Ships were also fitted with
smoke floats and smoke apparatus, which in fa-
vourable winds facilitated their escape. But when
the convoy system, which meant that ships sailed
in groups under man-of-war escort, commenced,
other methods of protection and safety were more
readily available and the day of the mystery ship
was nearly over.
I have attempted in these two chapters to de-
scribe briefly what we were up against and why
the mystery ship again came into being.
CHAPTER III
TO PLAY THE GAME
My New Job — Tramp Steamer by Profession —
Strange Use for a Hen Coop — Disguises and
Dummies
In September of 1915 I suddenly found myself out
of a job. I had been lieutenant in command of an
old 30-knot destroyer, the Bittern, and had been
working from Plymouth, escorting, rescuing ships,
going on wild-goose chases after submarines which
frequently turned out to be black fish, and all odd
jobs. At last one day we thought we had really
met an enemy ship. She looked suspicious and re-
fused to answer our signals. I therefore gave chase
and told the chief engineer to get every ounce of
power he could, with the result that we steamed
back to harbour on one engine at 4 knots! The
suspicious vessel turned out to be a new seaplane
carrier doing trials, we had burst our engines, and
had to pay off.
I had applied for a destroyer at Harwich or a
gunboat in the Persian Gulf, anywhere that there
might be some "scrapping," but a more exciting
job was in store for me. Over a year in the English
31
32 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Channel, without sighting the enemy or smelling
powder, had made me restless, and I had visions of
the war ending without my firing a shot. The idea was
particularly galling as we were continually escort-
ing our gallant troops on their way to the fighting
line and also seeing the wounded returning in the
hospital ships. I was sent for at the Admiralty and
asked if I would like to go in for some "special
service," but was not given any details, except to
be asked if I had heard of the Baralong, and to be
told that I should have to serve under Admiral
Sir Lewis Bayly. Although I didn't know Admiral
Bayly personally, I knew his reputation for being
a man who understood war and would tolerate
neither fools nor red tape— in fact, a man to serve
under, especially in wartime. I had also heard faint
rumours of one or two mystery ships in the Chan-
nel, and without a minute's hesitation I accepted
the "special service."
MY NEW JOB
I felt myself thoroughly fortunate, as I was fed
up at the thoughts that the war would end before a
chance of a scrap came. As I left the Admiralty
someone said to me, "Well, Admiral Bayly will
probably either make you or break you in your new
job." What more could one want in wartime?
My only instructions were to proceed to Devon-
port, where I would find a collier called the
TO PLAY THE GAME 33
Loderer. On arrival at Devonport I awaited the
coming of the ship from Cardiff. She arrived a few
days later, well filled with a cargo of coal. My first
impression was, "Fancy commanding a thing like
that!" She looked at first glance thoroughly filthy
inside and out, but she also looked a typical
"tramp," and the more I thought of what our
game was to be, the more I got to like her and feel
that she would be an excellent ship for the job.
After her arrival I received verbal instructions
from the admiral superintendent of Devonport
Dockyard to "fit her out," and had placed at
my disposal three 12-pounder guns and a Maxim.
I was given a free hand as to how I proceeded, and
could ask for anything I wanted, except guns,
which at this period were somewhat scarce. I
think the independence of the job was one of the
great attractions of mystery ships; it was not like
going to a ship which is already built on a more or
less standard pattern and carrying out a well-
known routine. Here was something out of routine,
and every thought was directed to dealing with
new problems, some simple of solution and some
extremely difficult.
I don't think I was ever actually told I was to go
hunting or decoying submarines, but my raison
d'etre seemed fairly obvious, and the less said the
better. Secrecy in a job of this sort was of vital
importance, for if the enemy got to know of our
34 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
existence and had a description of us, all attempts
to decoy him to destruction would fail.
My idea, therefore, was to fit out the ship as a
man-of-war, but with the outward appearance
of an ordinary tramp steamer which would plough
the ocean with a cargo of good things.
At the same time arrangements must be made
so that as soon as the enemy had been decoyed to
the required position, the disguise could be thrown
off in a few seconds on the order "open fire" being
given and the man-of-war revealed in deadly
earnest.
Before starting I took over the ship from the
master, much to his disgust, as he couldn't make
head or tail of it. It was naturally rather extraor-
dinary to him suddenly to find a naval officer com-
ing on board and saying he was going to take
command of the ship. He was very sporting about
it, and I think may have had an inkling of what
was on, as after all it would obviously be some fight-
ing stunt. He volunteered to remain and serve
under me, but I declined the offer, as I thought
it would probably prove uncomfortable for both of
us, especially as he was no longer a young man.
Before taking over I told him to send for the ship-
ping master and discharge all his crew. As they
had signed on at Cardiff only a few days previous,
they were none too pleased either. The discharge of
the crew and the taking over from the master oc-
TO PLAY THE GAME 35
cupied a day or two, but it gave me time to look
round and think out a few details. There was a
certain amount of difficulty in taking over, as the
master had no detailed order from his owners
about his stores, etc., and I had no authority to
buy non-naval stores, especially provisions, from
him. We got over most of the difficulties, as I was
anxious to have everyone out of it and get on with
the work. The chief difficulty was the ship's supply
of wines and spirits, not a great quantity. Eventu-
ally I agreed to the Customs locking it up aboard
with their seal till the owners removed it. A few
days later it was reported to me that some men
working aboard were found drunk. I at once went
to the lockers and found the customs seals had
been broken and several bottles removed. I, of
course, would be held responsible, and after discreet
inquiries as to what fine I was liable to, I bought all
the stuff from the owners and entered it as one of
H. M. ships.
TRAMP STEAMER BY PROFESSION
The ship was the ordinary type of tramp steamer
of 3,200 tons, 325 feet long, and a beam of 45 feet.
Although not specially fitted to carry coal, she was
loaded with over 5,000 tons of Welsh coal, and her
Plimsoll mark was below that allowed for winter
months. The fact that she was not fitted with
ventilation for carrying coal was in due course to
36 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
put us in rather a tight corner. She was a very old
ship in every way, and her maximum speed was
barely 8 knots. According to her official record, it
was supposed to be 8.5, but that was many years
previous. I was lucky in having for my first lieu-
tenant, or, as I now had to call him, Chief Officer or
Mr. Mate, Lieut. W. Beswick, R.N.R., of the Blue
Funnel Line, who came on with me from my
destroyer. He had a full knowledge of tramp
steamers and was able to advise and help me in
the many details of which the average naval officer
is ignorant. I was also greatly assisted in this and
my other ships by Mr. W. T. Mason (constructor),
Mr. Freathy (foreman), Mr. Sitters, and a large
number of other skilled and for the most part en-
thusiastic men of Devonport Dockyard. And last,
but not least, Mr. Oliver, of the Naval Store
Department, who provided all the fancy stores
and things we required. The ship's fitting out being
a little out of the ordinary run of dockyard work at
that time, I suppose more interest was taken in us
than I had been used to.
The first decision to be made was the position of
the guns, which were placed as shown in the dia-
gram (see p.47). The largest gun, a 12-pounder,
i8cwt.,was placed right aft inaspeciallyconstructed
house which represented a steering engine house. A
small steampipe was led aft from the real steering en-
gine, which was amidships, and taken over the stern.
TO PLAY THE GAME 37
This, with steam continually puffing out, added to
the belief that the house contained an engine and
not a gun. The three sides of the house were all
hinged halfway down, and only the back or fore-
most end and roof were fixtures. The centre shutter
was connected to the ensign staff, and so arranged
that when the shutters fell, the ensign staff, to-
gether with any ensign that might be flying, au-
tomatically came down before fire could be opened.
All the shutters were so fitted that they would have
fallen outward unless held up, so that by connect-
ing a wire to them all and bringing it to a "slip"
inside the house, all that had to be done when the
order to "open fire" was given was to knock the
slip off and the gun was in action a few seconds
later.
There was one great difficulty in the building of
this house, as it had to be erected over the steering
gear, which was a very old-fashioned chain arrange-
ment; and the hand-steering gear had to be sacri-
ficed altogether. Had I realized what we were in
for, in the way of weather and the rottenness of the
chains, I should never have agreed to it. At the
time we could think of no better arrangement, and
so the house was built, the floor being made mov-
able so that at a pinch (which became necessary)
we could steer with "relieving tackles."
It was essential to have one 12-pounder in the
centre line of the ship, so as to give us a broadside
38 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
of two guns each side. It would, of course, have
been better still to have had all three guns on the
centre line and had a triple gun broadside, but this
was quite impossible, owing to the structure of the
ship and the difficulty of disguise.
The other two guns, 12-pounders, 12 cwt., were
placed on each side of the main deck, the sides of
the ship being cut and hinged. The hinges were out-
board, and had to be covered with rubber and made
to look like a rubbing strake for going alongside a
jetty. The ports were kept up by a bolt and pin, the
guns being placed fore and aft against the ports,
and, like the gun in the house, these could be
brought into action in a few seconds, the risk being
taken of keeping the guns loaded, with the off-
chance of firing into oneself. This arrangement
again was a very poor one, but I was an entire
novice at the game. The rubber on the ports
caused a lot of trouble and, apart from the action
of the sea, generally got loosened after the ports
were opened for gun practice.
STRANGE USE FOR A HEN COOP
When I say the arrangement was very poor, I
am speaking from after-knowledge. As a matter
of fact, they passed the test and sank two sub-
marines, as will be related later, but the wheel
house and these gun ports would have given the
whole show away any time after the middle of
TO PLAY THE GAME 39
1917, when mystery ships were well known. The
Maxim gun was placed in a hen coop on the boat
deck near the funnel. The hen coop, which was
covered on top with light tarpaulin, was hinged
halfway down, enabling the Maxim to be brought
rapidly into action on either side of the ship. To-
gether with the Maxim were also some rifles. As it
happened, in February, 1916, when at Haulbow-
line and before the ship had been in action, I was
able to raise another couple of 12-pounder, 12
cwt. guns and two 6-pounders. Even history does
not relate how I got them. The raising of a crew
to man them was a more difficult matter. The
two 12-pounders were placed on the upper deck,
one each side in "cabins." The cabins were built on
to the existing cabins and fitted with dummy
scuttles or ports, which could be used as lookouts.
They were built of steel, and the sides were hinged
to fall outward, the guns being close up to the
sides as on the main deck.
The two 6-pounders were placed one each side
of the bridge, the corners of the bridge being hinged
together with the bridge screens, and easily pushed
aside before opening fire. These guns were the
only ones which were visible to the ordinary person
walking about the ship, and so had to be taken
down in harbour or when a pilot was coming on
board. One of the difficulties of fitting these guns
in odd places, in a ship not built for the purpose,
4o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
was the strengthening of the deck to take the
mountings; and this point had to be taken into
consideration in selecting the positions, as they
had to be in place where you could get underneath
fairly easily for the strengthening and supports.
The next considerations were messing accommoda-
tion and communications. The ship was in a filthy
state when we took her over, and we had to take
everything movable down and have the whole
place fumigated, and a great number of articles,
such as bunks, burnt, before I would allow anyone
to live on board. The ship was fitted to carry only
about 6 officers and 26 men, but eventually we
had to find accommodation for 1 1 officers and some
56 men. The officers' quarters were immediately
beneath the bridge, and a trap hatch was cut to
enable speedy communication between the bridge
and "saloon," and to avoid too many officers being
seen on the bridge ladders. The engineer officers'
cabins were near the engine room, and the deck
officers' near the bridge or guns. The stokers — or
firemen — lived under the forecastle head as in an
ordinary tramp; they had bunks instead of the
usual hammocks which the seamen had, and were
fairly comfortably off.
On the main deck, under the officers' quarters,
an upper cargo space was cleared and made into a
mess deck for the seamen; this was connected by
an alleyway through the coal the whole length of
TO PLAY THE GAME 41
the ship. The guns on the main deck adjoined the
mess deck, and so were easily manned, but the
guns in the "cabins" and the "wheel house"
and hen coop had to be approached through the
alleyway and up through trap hatches. This en-
abled all the crew to move about between their
"action stations" and mess deck without coming
on deck and being seen.
Each gun had a good supply of ready ammuni-
tion, the reserves being in lockers on the mess
deck, always a source of danger in the event of
being torpedoed or shelled. It was practically im-
possible to arrange for any supply of ammunition
to the two 6-pounders on the bridge from the
magazines (lockers), as it would be seen being
carried up. So they were dependent on what was
placed ready for use round the gun. In fact, this
really applied to all the guns, as a submarine would
almost for a certainty either have escaped or been
destroyed before all the "ready-use" ammunition
could be used. Every position in the ship was con-
nected by voice pipe with the bridge, and an elec-
tric bell at a later date was also fitted to give the
"alarm." Telephones were suggested, but I decided
to reduce electrical gadgets to the minimum, and
found voice pipes and percussion firing more fool-
proof and reliable. I was, according to my Admi-
ralty scheme of complement, going to have no men
with any special electrical knowledge among my
42 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
crew, and I might have been badly let down if
I had breakdowns and no one to make them
good.
The messes were made as comfortable as cir-
cumstances permitted, and as cleanliness is part of
comfort, I had them well painted out and kept up
to man-of-war standard. Smoking was allowed at
certain times, but regular "rounds" were carried
out. This meant that every morning and evening
Mr. Mate would go round and inspect the living quar-
ters and everything had to be tidied up and cleaned.
On Sundays I would do the inspection myself.
Although sometimes at sea the rounds became
impossible owing to circumstances, I always made
a strong point of them, both for the sake of dis-
cipline and the men's own comfort. The officers all
messed together, unlike the ordinary steamer,
where the captain is sometimes alone and the en-
gineers have a separate mess from the deck officers,
as, although the Frothblower had not come into
being yet, I knew it was a case of "the more we
pull together . . ." This was accentuated by the
fact that, not being shown officially anywhere as
one of H.M. ships, neither officers nor men received
any share of the gramophones, books, clothing,
papers, etc., which kind people used to send the
Fleet, and so we had to be entirely dependent on
finding and making our own recreations, which
TO PLAY THE GAME 43
included a gramophone and quite a good concert
party, which I thought a very good effort for a
small ship's company.
As merchant ships of this type seldom had
wireless in those days, it was therefore necessary
to disguise the wireless aerial. This was done by
having it fitted as an ordinary single stay or wire
between the two masts, the feeder to the wireless
room coming down through the upper bridge like a
pair of signal halyards, real ones being also fitted.
A sad calamity nearly happened through this
one day, for I was only just in time to stop a pilot
bending his pilot flag on to the "wireless" halyards,
and as a message was being passed at the time he
would probably have been electrocuted. Anyhow,
it showed the disguise was good, and the pilot never
knew what a narrow squeak he had had. A wireless
house had also to be built as near the bridge as
possible; we put it under the chart room so that
direct communication was possible for getting
signals through rapidly. I was greatly helped in
the wireless arrangements, which were of a novel
type, by a man from Marconi's, Mr. Andrews,
who had joined the R.N.R. and served throughout
with me. He had already had experience on the
East Coast which came in useful.
Since there were no proper storerooms on board
for provisions these had to be kept on the main
44 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
deck; nor were there any heating arrangements or
refrigerators. Inasmuch as the ship was employed
in both hot and cold climates, it will be appreciated
that she was not very comfortable. The only bath
on board was the captain's, and then hot water
was available only when there was steam on the
whistle (siren)!
Our ship's outfit was now nearly complete,
except for some small depth charges, which were
kept hidden away on trolleys ready to be run along
to the stern and thrown overboard, a depth charge
being a sort of bomb which explodes under the
water at any reasonable depth it may be set to.
These were a product of the war and naturally
improved as it went on. The ones we had on this
occasion were quite small, of about 100 pounds
of T.N.T., but eventually they got to some 300
pounds. They would have to be dropped very close
to a submarine in order to destroy it, but the moral
effect on a submarine crew of having bombs around
may easily be imagined, as the lights might be
put out or the trim altered.
An example of this came my way later on in
the war when I had a light cruiser in the Irish Sea.
A submarine had appeared three mornings running,
in exactly the same place in the vicinity of Dublin.
I therefore concluded she was lying on the bottom,
and going full speed across from Holyhead I
sprinkled the area with sixty 300-pound depth
TO PLAY THE GAME 4S
charges; but the submarine started her homeward
journey that night, having done no damage I
The ship was now fitted for cruising and righting,
but other things had to be thought of. To an ex-
perienced eye it is seldom that two ships look
exactly the same: there is generally some slight
difference even between sister ships; perhaps it is
the rigging, or the arrangement of the boats or
awning stanchions, and other small details. The
importance of the point could not be neglected, as
it was well known that a number of the German
submarine crews were men of the Mercantile
Marine themselves and had probably been English
Channel pilots. Their seaman's eye would soon
spot all the details of a ship. This had to be remem-
bered and arranged for. I have already explained
in a previous chapter how a submarine could see
without being seen, and how her best chance of
attack was near the focal points. It is therefore
obvious that a mystery ship cruising continually
in the same waters would soon arouse suspicion if
sighted more than , once, perhaps steering north
one day and south the next. As one could never
know definitely whether a submarine was in the
vicinity or not, we always worked on the principle
that we were always being watched during daylight
hours; so, when working in the same area for days
on end, the appearance of the ship was changed
each night after dark. If the ship was on a steady
46 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
course, say from Plymouth to Gibraltar, the dis-
guise was not necessary except in the event of an
unsuccessful action.
In the early days this was a comparatively simple
matter, as ships displayed their own funnel and
house marks; so with a good supply of paint and
with ready-made frameworks of all shapes, dia-
monds, triangles, etc., we were able to belong to a
different company each day, or as often as neces-
sary. But in 1916 nearly all British ships were
painted alike and showed no distinctive colour on
their funnels, nor flew any ensign, so this disguise
was of no further use.
DISGUISES AND DUMMIES
Another fairly simple disguise was to fly neutral
colours, a very old and perfectly legitimate ruse de
guerre, provided the national colours are hoisted
before opening fire. This disguise necessitated
carrying the suitable ensigns, special lights for
night, and big boards with the neutral colours
painted thereon for fitting over the ship's side.
During the late war, in which the submarine war-
fare against merchant ships was quite a new feature,
the flying of "colours" was not sufficient, as it was
frequently difficult for the submarine to distinguish
them, and so most neutral ships had their colours
painted on the ship's side. Consequently, if one
was representing a neutral, the colours on the sides
47
48 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
were necessary as well as the ensign. We therefore
had these boards made, which fitted into slots on
the ship's side. Canvas screens were also fitted
rolled up above them and became unfolded when
the gun ports dropped, so as to cover the boards
before fire was opened. These boards also became a
source of great trouble, as they were difficult to
ship in the dark in bad weather and often got
badly warped. Other alterations for which we
prepared were to have all the stanchions, including
those of the bridge, movable; we carried spare
dummy boats which could be put in place or dis-
carded. Spare ventilators, or cowls, were also
carried which could be shipped in various places.
The topmasts were telescopic, and we could either
be a stump-mast ship or a ship with a topmast.
Spare yards and trestle trees were also carried, and
could be put up or taken down, likewise a crow's
nest. The derricks could be stowed in different
positions. A large number of samson-posts were
carried which made the ship very much resemble
a Blue Funnel steamer. Sidelight lighthouses to be
placed on the forecastle were another useful help in
disguise, and these, together with other minor ones,
such as deck cargoes, rearrangement of life-belt
racks, could be used either singly or in conjunction.
I have already mentioned how our aerial was an
invisible one, but we also carried a visible aerial,
like any other, which could be put up when sailing
TO PLAY THE GAME 49
neutral or occasionally as a British ship. This would
be a disguise that would be very noticeable, as
whether the ship was fitted with wireless or not
would invariably catch a seaman's eye.
One of the best dummies we had was a large
wooden "donkey-boiler funnel" — a funnel that is
frequently seen in a ship either just before or just
after the main funnel. In our ship the real donkey
funnel was inside the main one, so that our dummy
one gave us three disguises: either we had none at
all, or else in front of the real funnel, or behind it.
It was naturally a pretty heavy affair, and took
sometime getting fixed. When not in use it was
stowed along the boat deck.
I told one distinguished retired admiral who
commanded a "Q" sloop about our dummy
donkey-boiler funnel, and he went one better. He
had one made with a slit near the top and just big
enough for a man to squeeze inside. The funnel
therefore served a double purpose, as in addition
to disguise a man was kept inside as a lookout,
and he was, I believe, connected with the officer
of the watch by a bit of wire attached to his finger,
so that as the officer walked up and down, the
lookout got his finger pulled and couldn't go to
sleep!
Another good disguise we had was to make the
ship into a "flush-deck ship." In the plan it will be
seen that there is what is called a "well deck" be-
So MY MYSTERY SHIPS
tween the bridge and the forecastle. But by appar-
ently building up the ship's side, which was done by
stretching a bit of black canvas across tautly laced
to a wire, this well deck was filled in and the ship
looked a straight deck the whole length. This dis-
guise could be used only in fine weather, owing
to the canvas becoming shaky otherwise; but when
used it was a great boon to the men, as it gave
them an open-air recreation space. It had, however,
its dangers, as one night when going into harbour a
tug came alongside and the pilot was just going to
step on to what he thought was a deck. Had he
done so, he would have fallen some ten feet. With-
out giving the show away, we told him that there
was a brow ready for him farther aft.
All the disguises and dummies I have mentioned
were assumed in a comparatively short time,
sometimes an hour, sometimes a whole night. In
addition to these more or less minor disguises we
had ready a disguise of a major order, to be used
(as it eventually had to be) in the event of an un-
successful action when we were certain we had
been seen. This disguise consisted of turning
the vessel into a timber ship. We carried sufficient
timber to board up the ship the whole way round;
and this, together with a coat of light gray paint,
stump masts, and neutral colours, completely
altered the class of ship. This disguise was also
popular, as the timber was only outboard, so we
TO PLAY THE GAME 51
could do what we liked inside without being seen.
We also carried a motor boat on board, which was
often more trouble than it was worth, as it seldom
"ran," and on one occasion caught on fire, but it
came in very useful for helping with disguises, as it
could be stowed in different places and we had a
large crate, suitably marked, made to cover it
entirely if desired.
Having now got the ship fitted up with every-
thing we thought we wanted — though we gradually
found out we had forgotten many things and failed
to foresee others — the next thing was to train and
rehearse for what we intended to do. This I will
detail in another chapter.
CHAPTER IV
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY
Beards and Old Clothes— Outer Slackness and
Inner Discipline—Dress Rehearsals—" Panic Party "
—Each at His Post— Exit the " Loderer"
While the ship was fitting out, one had to find
time to study the ways and practice of the Mer-
cantile Marine, as everything, anyhow outwardly,
had to be done in accordance with that practice.
This meant not only receiving long lessons from
Lieutenants Beswick and Loveless, but also reading
books and getting used to being quickly able to
refer to Lloyd's Register and books of that sort.
I arranged to be supplied with all the lists of sail-
ings and departures of merchant ships, so that
when we wanted accurately to represent a certain
ship, we had some idea where she was. Organiza-
tion had also to be got ready for the crew. This in-
cluded not only arranging for their accommodation,
but also for their stations in action and when
cruising.
Although there was little difficulty in getting
deck officers, I was seriously undermanned for
some time, being in two watches, there being only
myself, Lieutenant Beswick, R.N.R., Lieutenant
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 53
Jones, R.N.R., and an excellent young R.N.R.
sub., Nisbet. The question of engineer officers
was more difficult. I could have kept on the ones
in the ship, but they were unsuitable, owing either
to age or other reasons. But I eventually unearthed
at the Naval Barracks an engine-room artificer
R.N.R. , who had been second engineer officer of
the Loderer for two years. I asked him to come, and
got him demobilized and given a commission as
engineer lieutenant R. N. R— rather a big jump,
as it meant that from being a chief petty officer he
suddenly became a commissioned officer, but he
more than justified my selection and eventually
became Lieutenant-Commander Loveless, D.S.O.,
D.S.C., R.N.V.R. In order to carry out mercantile
procedure, after seeing him at the barracks I met
him again at the shipping office in the Barbican,
Plymouth, both of us in "plain clothes,', and
signed him on as chief engineer, commonly known
as "Chief," and offering him certain wages which the
shipping master agreed to and which I had Admi-
ralty authority to offer; at the same time I signed
on my second and third, Grant and Smith, both
Scotchmen and worth their weight in gold. I had
not known them before, and they had been sent
down from the Transport Department.
It is commonly believed that the crew were
specially picked; as a matter of fact, they were
drafted in the ordinary way, and as the duty on
54 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
which we were going was kept very secret, I think
the drafting officer thought the men were really
going to an ordinary collier. I was certainly not
impressed when I first saw my crew. There were
fifty-six of us all told; this number was increased
when I got the extra guns and some additional deck
officers, and, of the first lot, myself and the ship's
steward assistant (who looked after the men's food)
were the only active-service naval persons, and I
remained the only active-service naval officer
throughout. I was lucky in having as the senior
rating a pensioner chief petty officer, G. H. Trus-
cott; he had been chief boatswain's mate in some
of the smartest ships of the Navy, and he became
not only my master-at-arms and chief petty officer,
but a most loyal friend. I don't know what I should
have done without him, as he was equally loyal to
Beswick, and acted as a sort of go-between in the
very difficult mixture of naval routine and dis-
cipline and tramp routine and ( ?) discipline which we
had to carry out. He was cut out for the job; a bit
of a martinet he may have appeared to the crew at
first, but he had great patience and tact in dealing
with a very difficult and ignorant crew such as we
started with. The gunlayers (3) were R.F.R. men,
the remainder a variety of R.N.R. fishermen,
R.N.V.R.— in fact, a mixed crowd. One, for in-
stance, was a market gardener, another a commer-
cial traveller.
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 55
On going through them, I found that not a man
had ever steered a ship in his life, though one Irish-
man told me he could steer well enough with a
tiller. This looked rather serious, and I was on my
way up to the barracks to see about it when I
saw a man getting on in years sauntering about
with a face like a seaboot, and I casually asked him
if he had ever steered a ship. He gave me a look
I shall never forget, spat on the deck, and asked
me if I realized he had been quartermaster in the
Titanic, and was now "by rights" chief quarter-
master of the Olympic. (He didn't tell me his chief
duty was probably looking after the ladies' deck
chairs.) I asked him if he would come on a "stunt."
He came and remained with me till the end of the
war, as quartermaster and my servant in mystery
ships, and then as my coxswain in light cruisers.
Jack Orr was his name, and I have never met a
more typical handy man. He was a brilliant helms-
man and an excellent servant; the sort who puts
your morning tea just out of reach, so that you
either turn out and get it or go without. Hair-
dressing, tattooing, and carpentering were among
his other qualifications. I never once saw him laugh
during the three years he was with me. I tried hard
to make him do so, but the most I could get was a
faint smile combined with an agonized face.
We commissioned on Trafalgar Day, 1915, and
the first thing was to rig ourselves up for the part;
56 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
the Admiralty, not to be denied a chance of display-
ing their sense of humour, were graciously pleased
to allow each officer and man 305. and 155. re-
spectively to "fit themselves out" with "plain
clothes." This was eventually increased to £3
and 305. ; and as we all not only had to wear worka-
day "plain clothes," but also go ashore in them,
the allowance can hardly be called generous.
Beswick and Truscott were deputed to get the
outfit for the crew, and they would go ashore in
plain clothes either singly or together and get two
suits and caps from some store and then leave them
at a convenient pub to be called for. The same
sort of thing had to be done when we were at other
ports, as it would have looked suspicious if men
had gone ashore in naval uniform to buy plain
clothes in wartime. Most men brought private
things of their own from home to supplement the
outfit.
BEARDS AND OLD CLOTHES
This going ashore in plain clothes had its ad-
vantage as far as naval patrols and restrictions for
men in uniform were concerned; yet at one port
to which we went the men complained that the
girls wouldn't walk out with them because they
were in civies. One or two got attacked with white
feathers, so we got permission to wear the dock-
yard badge in our buttonholes, which said "On
Cartoon of the Master
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 57
War Service." This led to a great deal of amuse-
ment at times. On one occasion, when at Pembroke,
I was in my get-up, had grown a moustache
and no beard, and was wearing my war service
badge, which was commonly known as a "dock-
yard matey's badge." My own cousin, who hap-
pened to be there, didn't recognize me, and being in
uniform himself was most indignant when I went
up to shake hands with him and wanted to know
who the 1 thought I was. My own rig consisted
of a reefer coat and a peak cap with a bit of gold
lace wound round, and crossed flags in the centre.
The bit of gold lace round my cap was a piece of
gold lace from uniform trousers which I hired from
one of the outfitters at Plymouth, on the plea of
going to a fancy-dress ball. Most of us grew beards
or moustaches or both. I rather fancied myself
with a moustache and no beard. Anyhow by the
time we were all rigged up we looked our part. Of
course Beswick looked the best, as in addition to
the fact that he lost his razor or didn't have time
to shave three days out of four, he had a thor-
oughly worn-out reefer coat with a patch in the
back; and to make him complete, the dog we had
on board took a dislike to him and he had to find
another patch for the seat of his pants.
It can readily be realized that the duty on which
we were going was one that would require ideal
discipline, as each officer and man would have a
58 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
personal share in success or failure. Each man must
not only know his job but be relied on to do it with-
out supervision and in the direst extremity. By
reason of the very mixed crowd with which we
started, this question of discipline seemed difficult.
I was practically the only one who had been
brought up to "strict Navy," and most of the
others rather thought that discipline was associated
only with smart uniforms and spit-and-polish;
while now here we were all, officers and men alike,
in dirty rigs, saluting and other marks of respect
being conspicuous by their absence.
OUTER SLACKNESS AND INNER DISCIPLINE
In addition to this, the ship itself had always to
look the dirty old collier. Now, it is well known
that a dirty man-of-war is seldom if ever an efficient
one, so this added to the difficulties, which were
overcome by realizing that our upper deck and
outer appearance were only part of our disguise,
whereas the living spaces and gun houses were
our real selves and, therefore, clean. In fact, we
combined an outward appearance of slackness with
an inner soul of strict discipline. We were fortunate
in that we had no King's Regulations and Ad-
miralty instructions aboard to hamper us, and I
was free to make my own regulations. We were sup-
plied with only such codes and signal books as were
essential for secret communications. None of the
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 59
usual Fleet Orders, etc., were issued to us, and I
only ran across one flaw in this arrangement. We
happened on one occasion to be coaling at Devon-
port, about a year after we had been on the job,
and I took the opportunity of sending Beswick up
to the office to look through the cordite list for
"destruction or return" as having become danger-
ous. He returned with the news that we had some
on board that should have been immediately de-
stroyed some six months previous! We therefore
quietly ditched it that night.
Obviously on the matter of discipline there would
have to be a good deal of give and take, and the
mutual respect between officers and men necessary
for good discipline and success must be earned,
real, and spontaneous. I found that having a com-
mon officers' mess helped a great deal. We were a
very mixed crowd and brought up under various
ways and thoughts. One fellow was a rabid Scotch
Socialist, and we had many pleasant hours arguing
with him or playing chess, and many years after
the war he admitted he was no longer a Socialist.
Another was the exact opposite, boasted much blue
blood, and was quite upset that he couldn't dress
for dinner, but nothing could stop him wearing his
beautiful silk pajamas!
We eventually became a very happy mess, but
it was not too easy at first. Our first bone of conten-
tion was of course the matter of how to feed. We
60 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
appointed a mess caterer, and I suggested that our
first meal aboard at Plymouth — breakfast — should
be a specially attractive one. It was certainly solid,
but not attractive, as I found myself faced at 7
a.m. with a large plate of steak, onions, and
potatoes! I suggested boiled eggs or a bit of fish
might be more suitable if obtainable and when in
harbour: some agreed and some didn't; none of us
thought that the time was to come when we should
be grateful for anything. Anyhow, steak versus
fish for breakfast became such an important mat-
ter that we asked Nisbet, as being our youngest
member, to take on the catering, which he did re-
markably well for nearly two years; we messed
well, and he had the tact to keep us all fully
satisfied.
The best training ground for seamen is at sea,
and I early made up my mind that we should spend
as much time at sea and as little in harbour as
possible. Since our hunting ground was to be the
Atlantic, the season winter, and our ship an old
one, older than I ever guessed, I knew that any
wasters would soon show themselves, and could
be returned whence they came. A small part of the
coal deck became my quarter deck, where, out of
sight of the world, we held our Divisions, Prayers
and Quarters, and Divine Service. I also saw de-
faulters and request men here in accordance with
the custom of the Navy; but this was the only part
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 61
of the ship where strict Navy was carried out with
those essentials which I considered necessary.
Although heinous naval offences, such as "spitting
on the deck," putting "dirty fingers on paint-
work," "hanging washed clothes all over the place,"
etc., etc., were encouraged, yet anything affecting
the real fighting efficiency of the ship was dealt with
by great severity. The living spaces had also to be
kept scrupulously clean, the spitting, etc., only
taking place when the crew were lounging about
the ship's side for the benefit of anyone watching
our tramp steamer.
On my first mustering the crew, I explained our
game, and I especially emphasized the fact (which
I will say more about later) that success depended
on each individual, and that any one man could
spoil the show. I also pointed out that although for
ordinary routine it was necessary to have different
branches, as soon as the alarm was sounded in-
dicating the enemy in sight, we were all combatant
and executive, and there would be no non-execu-
tive branch.
The engineer officers had charge of guns and
rifles, and, although a little shy of it at first (this
being the sort of thin end of the wedge of naval
discipline), they soon tumbled to it, so there was no
stopping them. The wireless ratings, supply branch,
carpenter, stewards, and cooks all had their "ac-
tion" stations wherever they might be required.
62 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Later on I was joined by a purser (Paymaster-
Lieutenant R. Nunn, R.N.R.) and a surgeon proba-
tioner, Byrd; the former had come home from a
bank in Buenos Aires to join the London Scottish,
but fell for the sea, and became control officer; but
the latter was more of a difficulty as a combatant.
I solved the problem by putting him in charge
of one of the panic party boats, ready to rescue
and succour prisoners!
The fact that we were all new to this particular
form of warfare, and also that' a large number of
the crew hardly knew port from starboard, was a
great help, as one was able to start at the begin-
ning. I am afraid the stewards and cooks were for a
long time a source of trouble; I think probably be-
cause some of the men who volunteered as such
didn't realize there was fighting attached to the
job. We had two desertions from this branch, and
another who selected three months' hard labour in
preference to going to sea after the first trip. The
character among this branch was our chief steward,
who saw us through from beginning to end, an
excellent steward and a keen fighter, but he had a
great failing of sometimes forgetting to bring all
the food off. His position was rather a curious one,
as in the merchant service he had been a sort of
warrant officer and now he was only a chief petty
officer. When he was brought before me on one
occasion, I found him a difficult case to deal with,
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 63
as if I stopped his leave I punished ourselves, and
I therefore gave him the rank of warrant officer
(without extra pay). This automatically stopped
his rum ration. The following day I stopped his
officers' wine bill! All went well for a long time,
till we got to a foreign port and he again left our
stores ashore; this time I had to take more drastic
measures. I took away his rank altogether and gave
him "cells." The poor man lost quite two stone in
the same number of days, and was released, cured
of the habit of forgetfulness. He never owed me a
grudge, and did most excellent service in all our
engagements.
DRESS REHEARSALS
The principal training, apart from ordinary gun
drill, etc., was to be ready to adapt ourselves to
meet any situation, in a tramp-like manner, that
might arise, and to do everything that could
possibly be seen from outside the ship in a way that
would not give any inkling that we were officers
and men of H.M. Navy. In order to accustom our-
selves to this, we used all mercantile terms. I was
the master, the wardroom became the saloon, the
stokers became firemen. We had to be particularly
careful in this respect, because of pilots frequently
coming aboard, and it would never have done for
me to have referred to the navigator or signalman,
as tramps don't carry such people. Also when an-
64 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
choring, the naval expression is to tell the first
lieutenant to veer the cable to "3" shackles: I had
to shout out to the forecastle, "Mr. Mate, 45 in
the water." In fact, the only thing that seemed
common to both Navy and Mercantile was the
strong language.
Our rig I have already referred to, but it was,
I am sure, not appreciated that the outfit had
to include underclothing. The one thing a sailor
likes (or used to) more than anything is his service
flannel; but this had to be barred, as it would
never have done for service flannels to be seen
hung up to dry, nor for the men in the boats to
be seen with them on. Just as the ship was a
man-of-war with a mercantile mask on, so the men
had to have the heart of a bluejacket with the skin
of a merchantman (not that merchantmen didn't
always put up a gallant fight when they got a
chance).
When going in or out of harbour, the outward
appearance had to be natural — no leadsman heav-
ing the lead, no brass hats with megaphones, sur-
rounded by buglers and messengers, no groups of
men fallen in admiring the scenery. All we had
was Mr. Mate in his bowler hat and the chippy
chap (carpenter) on the fo'c'sle, a few firemen
(stokers) lounging about on the well deck, smoking
and spitting, a steward or cook with an apron
emptying slops over the side, the master and one
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 65
other on the bridge, and someone near our ensign
to dip to the White Ensign. Cruising at sea the same
sort of positions were taken up, except that Mr.
Mate would be busy with a few men on whatever
was required; if approaching harbour, this would
MR. MATE AND THE CARPENTER GOING ON THE
FO'C'SLE TO ANCHOR
be getting the derricks ready for discharging cargo.
We always arranged at sea that the men employed
on odd jobs should be men near to their "action
stations"— for instance, if a man was required for
repairing the bridge screen, he would be a man
who belonged to the 6-pounder crew there. In the
early days, masters still used to take their wives
with them, and I therefore had one of the men
66 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
dressed as a woman who used to sit below the
bridge; sometimes he would carry in his arms some-
thing to represent a baby.
During daylight hours at sea half the men were
always at the guns and lookouts at the end of the
bridge; the remainder would be in their messes,
the change round taking place via the alleyways.
The stokers under the fo'c'sle were, of course, in
their normal place, and so their change of watches
was quite natural. It must be realized that the
normal crew of a tramp would have been about
thirty-two, and as we eventually had nearly eighty
aboard, a large number had to keep out of sight.
During night time our routine varied according to
weather and whereabouts, as the men were gen-
erally employed for a varying number of hours
after dark altering the appearance of the ship or
other essential work, and this on top of long hours
at the guns. I generally used to try to arrange a
good night in, except for the lookouts, though I
don't think any of us ever undressed when at sea.
I certainly never did.
The risk of being torpedoed at night was com-
paratively small, and during the dark hours there
was no hope of getting the enemy; therefore we gen-
erally sailed either as a neutral or with lights on, so
as to reduce the chance of being thought a transport.
This was especially necessary on moonlight nights,
when everything is in favour of the submarine.
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 67
Having now arranged our normal way of cruising,
the next thing was to prepare to meet and engage
the enemy. Our object was to entice the submarine
to come as close as possible to the ship on the sur-
face with her lids open. How was this to be done ?
Obviously to encourage her to attack us, and then,
by feigning to have abandoned the ship to its fate,
induce her to come up. To add to the realism, the
"abandon ship" was to be done in a panic and
confusion, which caused the men who took part
in this effort to be referred to as the "panic party."
"panic party"
It must not be imagined for a moment that the
average British merchant ship is abandoned, if
such becomes necessary, in a panic. We all know
of too many heroic cases of ships sinking in war and
peace without any trace of it. All the same, there
is not too much time to be lost, especially if an
impatient enemy is shelling you. The procedure
then was, as soon as any enemy (even if only a
periscope) was sighted, the alarm was sounded.
Different alarms were used, denoting whether the
submarine was on the port or starboard side:
this was done so as to enable any men who were
working on the upper deck to proceed to their
action station on the offside — if his station was on
the bridge, he would come up the off ladder.
No one was allowed to run to his station (what a
68 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
disgraceful thing for a man-of-war!); nor was
anything in the way of crowding allowed— though
this was dealt with by limiting the number of men
on deck. The alarm sent all the guns' crews who
were not already there to their guns and every man
to his station, all the movements taking place un-
seen and underground as it were, by the alleyways
and trap hatches; obviously you couldn't have
about twenty men running about the deck and dis-
appearing into hen coops! The men to whom I
have referred before as lounging about, etc., re-
mained in the same attitude of disinterestedness.
If a torpedo was fired, the order was given
through the voice pipes — "torpedo missed," or
"torpedo hit." In the first case, all went on as be-
fore, maintaining the pretence that either we had
not seen the wake or did not know what it was.
In the second case, the ship was abandoned by
the panic party. This order to abandon ship might
also be given in the event of our being shelled.
Now, the panic party had to be thoroughly drilled
and the whole performance rehearsed. Of course,
from time to time we thought of improvements
and variations, but the general procedure was as
follows: all those men who had been hanging about
the upper deck rushed to the boats, men also came
tumbling out of the fo'c'sle and up from the stoke-
holds and engine rooms; everything was pande-
monium mingled with shouts for help. We did not
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 69
imagine that the shouts for "help" would be heard
by the submarine, especially if she was submerged,
but I thought it would add a more realistic touch
to the play than
a sort of dumb
charade. A rush
was made for the
boats, and one
boat was general-
ly let go "with a
run, "end up. This
even happens
sometimes in the
best - regulated
ships. The officer
in charge would
come to the
bridge and swop
hats with me, tak-
ing my gold-
banded hat and
becoming master.
He would be the
last to get into
the boats, accompanied by a stuffed parrot in its
cage. The stuffed parrot was one of our after-
thoughts, and we kept it in the saloon in a beautiful
green cage. Sailors generally have some pet. Many
pets were suggested, but after much discussion in
A GRIMY STOKER WOULD APPEAR
.... SHOUTING AND YELLING
7o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
the mess a parrot won the day. After the boats,
which contained about thirty men, and were rigged
as a complete ship's company, with a proportion of
officers, seamen, firemen, stewards, cooks, etc.,
had shoved off, a grimy stoker would appear from
the stokehold, shouting and yelling, and a boat
would go back to fetch him. They would now lay
off the ship to see her finish. She would then be to
all intents deserted, but in reality all the guns
would be manned, the chief engineer and his party
in the boiler room and engine rooms, the captain
and quartermaster on the bridge, and a signalman
ready to break out the White Ensign. The signal-
man was Hurrell, a R.N.V.R. of the London
Division.
EACH AT HIS POST
The quartermaster, who was always Jack Orr,
would lay by the wheel, while the signalman and I
were at either end of the bridge looking through
little slits specially cut in the wooden screen which
went round it. We got very thin at this job, because
we had to practise changing places, which neces-
sitated a very careful " belly crawl" from one side
of the bridge to the other. This arrangement was
necessary so that I could be in the best position for
seeing what was happening whichever side the sub-
marine might go to. Obviously, the ship being
abandoned, one couldn't get up and walk across
the bridge.
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 71
The wireless operator's men were divided be-
tween the panic party and guns' crews, except the
senior one, Mr. Andrews, who remained at his post
in the wireless room. Shut up by himself, he had to
sit tight and do nothing till ordered: on no account
must he send out an S O S if torpedoed, as such a
signal would have brought Admiral Bayly's patrol
craft swiftly to our rescue, and would have nega-
tived any chance of decoying the wily enemy. All
on board had, therefore, to lie still, in all circum-
stances, till orders to open fire or do something else
were received. If a man were to look out of the port
or be seen in any way by the submarine after the
ship was "abandoned," the game would be up.
Later chapters will show how perfect the crew
became, and how each individual realized he had a
personal responsibility toward success. The next
question that had to be settled was how to re-
hearse all this, and how to do target practice with
the guns without being seen.
The first part was fairly simple, and for weeks on
end we drilled every evening just at dark and each
morning just before light, when movements on deck
would not be seen. For the target practice, which
was as frequent as possible, we had to take chances
and select an area which, as far as intelligence
could say, was free of any enemy. Not having any
instructions for firing on board, we made our own,
and our most frequent practice consisted of drop-
72 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
ping two targets, one representing a conning tower
and one a periscope; these we fashioned aboard.
They were dropped some distance apart, and,
steaming between the two, fire would be opened
first on one and then on the other from both sides
of the ship. We thought that submarines generally
worked in pairs, and the idea was to be already
engaging a submarine when the second one ap-
peared with only the periscope showing: she would
see what was going on, and there would be no
chance of destroying her, but we would attempt
to take away her eyesight and prevent her tor-
pedoing us.
This practice also had the advantage of bringing
all guns into action at the same time, which gave
the best test of efficiency or otherwise of our ar-
rangements for casting off disguise and supplying
of ammunition — this apart, of course, from the
most important point of hitting the target quickly
and frequently. Although for all these drills the
alarm was sounded, I always arranged that a pre-
liminary warning be given, and that the alarm
never be sounded without such warning unless
the enemy were sighted.
By this means, although we drilled till I thought
we were perfect, I also knew that if the enemy was
sighted the alarm would send a thrill through the
ship that would make each man thirty seconds
quicker.
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 73
EXIT THE "LODERER."
While we were in the throes of fitting out, a
rumour arose that an enemy agent knew all about
our ship and her fitting out. I therefore suggested
to Admiral Bayly that a new name should be al-
located to the ship, to be kept very secret till we
had actually sailed. I also suggested that a rumour
should be started ashore that the Loderer had sunk.
No one on board knew that our name was to be
changed; of course they knew when we started our
cruising we should sail under different names each
day probably, but we had to have a permanent
name for Admiralty, dockyard purposes, and for
mails.
I arranged to sail at dusk, and just before slip-
ping, an officer arrived on board in uniform to see
the master. It turned out to be Paymaster-Lieu-
tenant Carpmael, an old school pal, whom I had
relieved as captain of the school fifteen. I received
him of course in my get-up. What absurd situations
the war created! I took him to my cabin, where
he produced from his pocket a sealed envelope
which contained the name, and which was not to
be opened till after leaving harbour.
Without disclosing anything about the change
of our official name, I had arranged that the ap-
pearance of the ship was to be changed as soon as
it got dark: the donkey-boiler funnel had to go up,
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
and two big steel bands painted white had to be
placed high up round the funnel to change our fun-
nel markings. Dummy ventilators had to be
shipped, and various other smaller alterations
made.
We had anchored in Plymouth Sound just as it
was dark, and the pilot was in my cabin waiting
for his boat. The work of putting the funnel bands
up had commenced, and in addition to making a
frightful noise, we found they were far more diffi-
cult to get up than we thought, and we had eventu-
ally to discard them and paint the funnel itself.
The pilot in the meantime had heard a great
noise going on, and was very alarmed and wanted
to go out and see what it was all about, and on each
occasion he tried to get to the door I had to push
the whisky bottle toward him, and this, combined
with my imagination, had the desired effect.
How I disliked pilots on this job! They caused
me to tell more falsehoods than I cared to think
about.
Having eventually got rid of our pilot, we sailed
—the envelope was opened, and our new name was
the Farnborough. The whole arrangement of de-
feating the action of any possible enemy agent
worked almost too well, for, in addition to the new
appearance of our ship, the change of name, and
the yarn that the Loderer had been sunk, our let-
ters were returned to our families through the
MAKING THE MOST OF MYSTERY 75
Dead Letter Office. This of course caused some
alarm, but it did not last. As soon as we were out-
side I told the crew why our name had been
changed, and that they could write home any
pictorial yarn they liked. I was surprised at the
wealth of imagination and the reasons given for
now being the Farnborough. Some confirmed the
rumour that the Loderer had been sunk; one fel-
low described how she had been torpedoed as she
was leaving the harbour; another wrote and said,
"I'm fed up with the Navy. I joined the Loderer
last week, and now I have been transferred to
another ship called the Farnborough — always get-
ting mucked about and never able to settle down."
The luckier ones of the crew, or the ones who
had concocted the most pathetic accounts of the
imaginary loss of the Loderer, were rewarded by
receiving new socks, jerseys, etc., from their sweet-
hearts.
CHAPTER V
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT"
"Ready Now, Sir" — Hazards of Acting — Poteen—
The Invisible Eye— Winter Practice in the Atlantic —
Gale of the Irish Coast
It was at the end of October, 191 5, that we sailed
from Plymouth for Queenstown, which was to be
our headquarters. Queenstown was a small naval
base at the beginning of the war, but it became of
great importance later on, and from having a vice-
admiral in command it became the appointment
of a commander-in-chief.
There was a small but very efficient dockyard
there on Haulbowline Island, which lay opposite
the town of Queenstown, where the c.-in-c. had
his residence and headquarters at the top of a hill
and so had a good view over the harbour. It was
the most suitable place for our operations, as it
was easy to get to any of the many trade routes
which approach the British Isles. It often struck
me that Queenstown would have been an excellent
place to have had a sort of admiralissimo of all the
approaches to the British Isles from the westward
and southward, Plymouth, Milford, etc., being sub-
76
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 77
bases. Whitehall is too far away, and the sea air
doesn't penetrate so far. But now I am getting
beyond the scope of my book.
Needless to say, Jack Orr had to steer the ship
out of harbour, being relieved as necessary by
Beswick. As I have already related, we became the
Farnborough after clearing Plymouth Sound. On
the way round we started our instruction in steer-
ing and ordinary seamanlike duties, in addition to
gun drill and our own special duties. Our course
to Queenstown was not by any means a steady one
— as in addition to the men being under instruc-
tion at the helm, nearly the whole crew were sea-
sick. I shudder to think what would have hap-
pened had we encountered a submarine.
On arrival at Queenstown we had our first ex-
perience of acting. First we had to deal with the
examination steamer: such a steamer lying off the
approach to every important harbour had the
power to refuse a ship entrance, being supported
by a shore battery if necessary, the guns of which
were pointed so as to be able to drop a shot just
ahead of the steamer. If the ship wishing to enter
was in order, a private signal consisting of certain
flags or special lights was given to the latter, who
hoisted them and proceeded in. On this occasion I
got through without much difficulty as an Admi-
ralty collier, but on several occasions I had to tell
a sheaf of lies before being passed.
78 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
The pilot and customs officials then came on
board, and we had to carry out our role of mer-
chantmen. The pilot was most chatty, and ex-
pressed in unmeasured terms his opinion of the
Navy. On approaching the boom defence, a naval
picket boat with a lieutenant commander in com-
mand came toward us and he started shouting
through the megaphone. I asked the pilot what he
was. He replied, "By the way he is shouting and
the language he uses he must think he's an admiral."
He went on to tell me there was too much Navy at
Queenstown. and they seemed to think they owned
the place.
"ready now, sir"
It was after dark when we anchored, incidentally
quite close to the mystery ship Baralong, which
had already accounted for two submarines. It was
blowing half a gale, but I was in a hurry to report
myself to my new c.-in-c, Admiral Sir Lewis
Bayly, and none too pleased to find the motor boat
wouldn't run. I asked the pilot the way to the c.-
in-c. 's house; he said: "It ain't no good wasting
your time going up there; he won't see the likes of
you. Better come with me and have a half-and-half.
Maybe someone in the dockyard will give you
orders later on to-morrow."
It took us nearly an hour and a half to get to the
landing place in our dinghy against the wind and
tide, and, having done the necessary to get rid of
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 79
my self-made friend, I trotted up the hill to re-
port, with the answer to my first question (which
I knew I would get) ready on my tongue; and sure
enough, when the admiral came out from dinner,
he shook hands and said, "When will you be ready
for sea?"
"Ready now, sir."
"All right. Remain in harbour for a day or two."
This was my first introduction to Sir Lewis
Bayly, whom I was to serve under till the end of the
war. It would be impossible for me to say how much
we got to love him: he was an ideal c.-in-c. in every
way — he had our confidence and we felt we had
his. At first he used to give us sailing orders which
were of the type that always allowed the man on
the spot to do what he thought best, regardless of
instructions; after a few months I used to go to
sea without any sailing orders and just report each
day what I was doing.
We all felt we were under a man who understood
the game, understood our difficulties, and was
ready to back us up through thick and thin —
provided we did our job. As regards taking shelter
from the gales, which are severe on that coast, the
commanding officers of his craft had a free hand to
shelter or not as they thought fit; but Admiral
Bayly reminded us that while getting back to our
patrol after sheltering, the submarine would al-
ready have been on the spot and busy. The Farn-
80 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
borough, therefore, never took shelter from a gale,
for we were all far too keen to get our chance, and
determined that neither wind nor sea should rob
us of it.
Admiralty House at Queenstown, which, thanks
not only to the admiral but also to his niece, Miss
Voysey, C.B.E., became a second home to me, and
was practically the only place in Queenstown I
could go to when in plain clothes — the club or any
other place was not desirable in our present job,
in view of the necessity for secrecy and not allow-
ing our existence to be known to more than was
necessary. The house, standing as it did at the top
of a very steep hill, gave the admiral a great ad-
vantage over his officers, as when sent for in a
hurry one generally arrived puffing, and he could
bite your head off before you had time to recover
your breath.
HAZARDS OF ACTING
During the day or two we were at Queenstown
on this occasion, the admiral came on board to
have a look round. We knew he was coming, but
we intended to give him no different reception to
what he might expect from any ordinary steamer.
It happened to be a pouring wet day, and as the
barge, a naval steamboat used by flag officers, was
seen approaching, no one was visible in the stern,
and we thought he hadn't come. Mr. Mate (Lieu-
tenant Beswick) was the only person officially on
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 81
deck; I was keeping out of sight. The barge came
alongside, and Beswick wanted to know what the
they had come for. A figure clad in oilskins
and sou'wester, who had been standing alongside
the coxswain, jumped out and started to come up
the gangway. Beswick, with his most suitable lan-
guage, at which he was an adept, told him to get
down out of it, as no one was allowed on board;
but the figure ignored the abuse and stepped on
board. It was the c.-in-c. himself! By this time I
was at the gangway, having been watching and
listening unseen; Beswick was somewhat taken
aback, and had visions of dire penalties for his
treatment of an admiral, but all that the c.-in-c.
said was: "Quite right. I like your ship and" —
looking at my cap— "I like your cap." So all was
well, and I expect Beswick chuckles to this day
at the thoughts of having told a distinguished ad-
miral to go to Jericho.
I was often bumping up against such treatment
myself, and while walking through the dockyard
one day, dressed in my skipper's best — reefer coat,
red tie, and bowler hat — I was stopped by one of
the Royal Irish Constabulary and asked for my
pass, a possession necessary for any civilian in the
dockyard. Unfortunately I had left it on board,
and my excuses were of no avail. I was placed un-
der arrest and in due course was marched by a
sergeant between two burly policemen to the cap-
82 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
tain of the dockyard's office. I was in a great hurry
but reckoned I would only cause suspicion it 1
said so and I therefore calmly had to submit to
waiting outside the office for nearly an hour-no
doubt through malice aforethought on the part ot
the captain, that officer not knowing who it was
and wishing to give a lesson. When I was finally
marched in, he spoiled the whole show by roaring
with laughter and apologizing!
On another occasion I was being taken ashore by
a naval dinghy which had been sent for me It
contained two bluejackets. I jumped into the boat
and automatically sat down in the stern ready to
steer; one of the young A.B.'s said, " 'Ere, get out
of that; you don't know nothing about steering.
I meekly shifted my seat and made room for him
The next thing I got was: "S'pose it's no good
telling you to trim the dish, 'cos you wouldn t know
what it meant. Anyhow, sit there."
The worst offence I ever committed at this dock-
yard was one day, when going round a corner in a
hurry, I unfortunately ran into a party of blue-
jackets, one of whom was carrying a mess kettle
of rum. I collided with him, and some of the valu-
able contents were capsized. I have never been
called such names in my life as were hurled at me
then My first impulse was to put the man under
arrest for insulting his superior officer, but, realiz-
ing I was only the skipper of a dirty tramp, 1
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 83
doffed my bowler hat and offered my most humble
apologies.
This first stay at Queenstown was very useful
and necessary, as for purposes of pay and provi-
sions we were a tender to the depot ship Colleen
there, and it was desirable both for the Colleen
and for the officials in the dockyard to be initiated
into some of our secrets, so that they were not
taken aback when they got somewhat unusual de-
mands for a collier from the master of the S.S. Farn-
borough. We had many difficulties to overcome, as
it was not always easy to make it clear that we
were a collier in all respects, and that I was the
master and not a lieutenant commander, and so
on — but at the same time we were to be given
anything we asked for. We were lying among other
colliers, and so it was essential for us to be very
careful in all respects; the men on deck had to
appear dirty and slack, but as I have mentioned,
their mess deck had to be up to man-of-war
standard. One day we nearly got ourselves into
trouble with the flag captain. He had sent two
wireless ratings in uniform with bags and ham-
mocks to the ship in a service steamboat — being
daylight, it would have caused suspicion if they
had been seen joining us. The boat was therefore
hailed and told not to come alongside; but the cox-
swain naturally didn't intend to take orders from
the mate of a tramp, and shouted back words to
84 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
that effect, saying he was going to obey the flag
captain's orders; but he didn't, as when he got
close enough two or three of my men on deck pelted
them with coal. They lost the day, and had to re-
turn to the Colleen, with many oaths. Of course
the coxswain reported us, but I was at sea before
the balloon went up, and didn't return till the in-
cident had been forgotten.
We found that our boats were in a very bad way,
and on one occasion here we nearly lost our stew-
ard and all our food, as the boat leaked so badly
it nearly filled. We had not tried them at Plymouth,
as they had all just been passed fit at Cardiff!
At the time we started operations there was
practically no submarine activity going on at all
in our part of the world, it having stopped, I be-
lieve, for political reasons. This was a disappoint-
ment to all of us, but in reality was a blessing in
disguise, as it enabled us to become hardened to-
gether in the winter gales and to get our ship really
efficient. It was known that submarines were on
passage from Germany to the Mediterranean, and so
we were ordered to keep the sea to the westward
of Ireland in the hopes of sighting them while on
passage.
POTEEN
After forty-eight hours at Queenstown we sailed.
We called first at Berehaven, and this harbour
became our base so long as dockyard assistance
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 85
was not required. It was an ideal place when work-
ing off the west or southwest coasts of Ireland, for
it had a good anchorage, and was easy to get in
and out of without any pilots nosing around. Here
a few men could go ashore and stretch their legs
without causing suspicion, although on our first
visit we had rather a contretemps when one of the
men sampled the wine of the country — poteen—
with disastrous results. He was arrested by the
R.I.C., who brought him on board the following
day and informed me that he had gone mad. I
asked why, and they said he had been talking about
his collier being fitted with guns, and how she was
always changing her name. I agreed with the R.I.C.
that the man must be mad, and took them all
round the ship without disclosing any secrets to
show what a liar the man was.
This was the only case I ever had of a man
giving away our secret and, as the R.I.C. didn't
believe it, it didn't matter, but the man was sent
to a place where they don't talk to each other.
The only other trouble of this sort was a man
bringing off a bottle of poteen in his pocket. This
of course could not be allowed, and although he
was one of the best men in the ship and did not
know it was a serious offence, I had to give orders
for him to be confined in ready-made cells for a
prolonged period, these consisting of a portion of
the cargo space. This man served with me till the
86 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
end of the war. I mention this as an example of
how difficult it was at first to maintain a very strict
naval discipline on some occasions and an appar-
ently lax one at others. Once we all understood,
of course things were much easier.
On entering Berehaven, we had difficulties with
the examination officer — a warrant officer of the
Navy. He boarded us and was very suspicious, as
I had given my name as the Farnborough and was
flying the Admiralty signal as such, but his flag
book had not been corrected and my signal was the
number of some other ship. I showed him my bills
of lading, 5,071 tons of coal at Cardiff, and store-
notes from H.M. Dockyards, but still he wouldn't
let me in. I finally showed him the Navy List with
my name in it and, having threatened him with the
Naval Discipline Act, I finally got through, after
congratulating him on his smartness and making
him promise to keep our secret.
The customs officials here were more easy to deal
with, and a few kind words got me a green
clearance pass which lasted me a long time and
saved me many delays when stopped by H.M.
ships— as ships carrying these passes were sup-
posed to be in order.
THE INVISIBLE EYE
On leaving Berehaven our winter cruising really
began. We were never on any definite patrol as a
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 87
destroyer or patrol craft would be, confined to a
certain line or radius. At this particular time we
had the whole southwest and west coasts of Ire-
land to operate in, and as far into the Atlantic as
we liked.
The chief thing we had to have in mind was
that during daylight hours a submarine was al-
ways watching us; this applied to every man on
board. For this reason, by the time the sun rose,
we were always on a definite track from one as-
sumed place to another. This means that if we were
supposed to be the S.S. Nonsuch from New York
to Bristol Channel, at sunrise we would be on the
route that such a ship would take and we would
maintain it till sunset. During the dark hours one
would, if necessary, get into some suitable position
by next morning. If one was on a run, say, from
Gibraltar to Lerwick round the west of Ireland, it
would be unnecessary to alter course during the
night or to alter the appearance of the ship. On
the other hand, if, owing to the submarine intelli-
gence, one particularly wanted to be in the vicinity
of the Fastnet two or three days running, then the
appearance of the ship must be changed each night
and the course altered during the night to get into
a good position by daybreak. The great thing was
that once having decided on a route for the day,
that route had, in practically every case, to be
maintained; for if one were suddenly to alter course,
88 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
or turn right round, or to be seen steering in a
direction that led to no harbour, then if a submarine
was watching, suspicion would at once be aroused
and the game would be at an end, as far as suc-
cess was concerned. I believe a neglect of this pre-
caution was often the cause of giving the show
away.
It must also be remembered that the enemy sub-
marines were generally fairly well informed about
shipping movements, especially from the American
continent; and consequently if one was imperson-
ating a special ship, either British or neutral, it
was necessary to be about the same tonnage as
the ship impersonated as well as to be in about
the position and on about the course that the real
ship would be. All these details and many others
had to be carefully considered, together with all
the information available about the movements of
every submarine, before deciding on the procedure
for the following day.
WINTER PRACTICE IN THE ATLANTIC
During November, December, and January, we
had ample time to get into the swing of this new
kind of thought, as we saw nothing at all. We
went up and down the west coast and round the
corner without an alarm, but we learned a lot. We
found out the weaknesses of the ship which en-
Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell on bridge of the Farnborough
at sea, Lieutenant Nisbet behind him.
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 89
abled us to remedy them before meeting the enemy;
for this purpose we sometimes anchored off Black-
sod Bay or off Galway, as far out of sight of land
as possible. We suffered gale after gale, and on two
occasions our rudder broke adrift; on one occasion
we spent a day and a half rolling in the Atlantic
completely at the mercy of the sea. On another oc-
casion our steering-engine house got smashed by
the sea. This might have been very awkward, as
it disclosed our gun, but we were able to make
sufficient repairs to last till we got dockyard help.
During all these times the guns were kept manned,
but the chances of a submarine appearing were
very remote, and I am afraid if they had not been
we shouldn't have made much of a show, the weather
for the most part being too bad to hit even a hay-
stack.
On another occasion our one and only fresh-water
tank sprang a leak and we got salt water. This
was rather serious, and we went into Berehaven
and watered ship with barricoes. Of course there
would have been simpler ways of remedying the
case, but realizing all the time that we were under
training, I thought a few hardships would do us
all good, and I always avoided Queenstown or
other dockyard ports as much as I could, as once
near a dockyard defects always increase. After
cruising up and down for some time, we thought
9o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
that if the submarines on passage to the Mediter-
ranean didn't want to waste efforts at a moving
target, perhaps they would have a go at a station-
ary one.
I have already pointed out how on occasions we
were stopped involuntarily, but that was in bad
weather; now, however, we conceived an idea of
stopping in fine weather, which we sometimes did.
Our procedure was to become a neutral, stop en-
gines about 9 a.m., and hoist the signal for "Not
under control," hoping that the bait would attempt
the submarine; but it never came off, because, as
we knew afterward, there were no submarines
there. On other occasions I would make our posi-
tion course and speed en clair, so that if a subma-
rine heard it, she might, with luck, attack us.
Stunts of this sort kept the men going, for, as I
had anticipated, there were two or three "grousers"
on board, and they can always create a lot of un-
easiness, especially in a small ship.
One of our little quiet laughters was at H.M.
ships, which would approach us with a signal:
"What ship?" Answer: " Lovedale." "Where
from?" Answer: "Boston." "Where bound?"
Answer: "Liverpool." Further signal: "Proceed;
keep a good lookout for submarines." Sometimes
the trawlers were far more inquisitive, and I re-
member one, when we were off Galway, firing a
shot across our bows for not obeying her signal to
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 91
"stop instantly." I always thought the trawlers
very plucky, as they never knew on that coast
when they might be up against a raider.
We spent Christmas Day at Berehaven, but on
entering the harbour the examination steamer gave
me the wrong signal for the day, with the result
that as we were steaming to our anchorage the
shore battery put a shot across our bows. I at
once went full astern, as it had been carefully cal-
culated to miss me by just a few feet, and I didn't
want another any closer. We nearly went aground
as a result, but the mistake having been dis-
covered, we were soon safely at anchor. I believe
that the only other shot fired from the battery on
Bere Island during the war was under similar
circumstances at the Baralong.
One of the attractions of Berehaven was that
we met there the sloops in from patrol, our chummy
one being the Zinnia, with Lieut. Com. G. F.
W. Wilson in command: this gave us a welcome
change, as otherwise, even ashore, we lived a life
very much to ourselves. Only a very few men were
allowed ashore, and then for only two or three
hours at a time to get provisions. It was one of the
hardships they had to put up with. It might seem
stupid to be lying in harbour — cleaning boilers
and so out of action — and not allow them all ashore,
but I couldn't run the risk of causing suspicion by
having a large number of different men going ashore
92 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
each day from a collier, especially owing to the
state of Ireland at that time.
The officers also seldom went ashore here, but
on one occasion I was tempted to do so by Smith;
Beswick accompanied us. We landed close to the
house of a well-known character at Berehaven —
Murphy; from him we hired farm horses and went
for a ride, but the only one who knew anything
about riding was Smith. We ambled along gently
for several miles and turned to go back. Smith,
who was a regular John Gilpin, got behind us,
and, urging his own horse on, made us all gallop
back as hard as the horses would go. I couldn't
stop my horse, though I put on all the brakes I
could think of ; anyhow, we got back without the
disaster I saw facing me. It was Smith's quiet way
of informing the master and Mr. Mate that their
livers wanted shaking up. He certainly succeeded.
On Boxing evening we had a concert on board,
the leading hands being Statham and Fletcher,
both wireless ratings, and were just in the middle of
it when our very first report of the enemy was re-
ceived. In a few hours we were out at sea, but
unfortunately there was nothing doing. Anyhow,
being once out we remained out, and on the 31st
encountered the worst gale I have ever known.
Although steaming our full speed of 8 knots, we
were going astern all the time, and Jack Orr, who
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 93
was washed overboard trying to get a deep-sea
sounding, was washed back again.
GALE OFF THE IRISH COAST
The situation, from my point of view, got rather
serious— we had had no sights for several days, nor
sighted the land. I knew we were fairly close to
the rocky and dangerous southwest coast of Ire-
land, but how far? We were heading to the west-
ward, a point of two off the wind, and slowly being
driven toward the land. I therefore decided that
before dark I would turn round and set a course
to the southeastward to cut off the corner. Beswick
told me he thought we would capsize if I attempted
it in that sea, which, to use a common but often
inaccurate expression, was mountains-high. Having
in my mind that it would be a better chance of
safety than being driven on the rocks in the night,
I decided to turn, and started to do so. Everyone
on board was warned to hold tight, and the helm
was put over. When we got beam on to the sea we
lay over and stayed there for what seemed like
hours, but was probably a minute or perhaps less;
it was long enough to be quite distinct and for us
all to think we were over and for me to think,
"Beswick was right." The ship wouldn't steer,
and she turned, on her own, 28 points (bringing
the wind on the other bow), and we went through
94 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
the same unpleasant feeling again of going over on
our beam. Fortunately all was well, for although
the gale lasted the whole night and part of the
following day, we found ourselves some thirty
miles off the coast.
We were somewhat badly battered about, and
after another few weeks of fruitless cruising we re-
turned to Queenstown for refit and leave — wiser
and better men, but a little depressed at the
thoughts that the enemy had abandoned his sub-
marine warfare and that we might not have a scrap
after all. We had had a hard time, and, as our ad-
miral said at a later date, we had faced the winter
gales and stuck to it, always hoping for a chance.
We had certainly had every damage done by the
sea that anyone could want, and it must be remem-
bered that for a long time I was entirely dependent
on Beswick and Truscott for any important or
unusual seamanship job, Jack Orr being at the
wheel on these occasions, and my R.F.R. men at
the guns. I have seen these two work twenty-four
hours on end, not only once, but frequently, both
of them up the funnel or up the mast, putting new
stays up or repairing the aerial; there was always
something that required not only their personal
superintendence, but practical handling. They were
a fine combination.
I met the other day one of my old crew, told him
I was writing this book, and asked him if he had
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 95
any yarns I had forgotten. He said: "Well, don't
forget to mention that winter in the Atlantic. It
was the hardest few months I ever had in my life
— as fast as we put things right the sea smashed
them up again, and however long the hours we
worked you were never satisfied unless everything
was exactly as you wanted."
Although at this time the ship was not an entirely
contented one, I at least felt that our training was
complete, and with few exceptions my mixed crowd
were now a crew. The opportunity of a spell in
harbour enabled me to get rid of the wasters and
grousers; when once they were out of the way,
things looked better, especially as it was during
this period we acquired our two additional im-
pounders and two 6-pounders, which were fitted
in Haulbowline Dockyard. The crews for the addi-
tional guns came from a mystery ship, the Vala,
which had fitted out up north and was now paid
off at Queenstown. They didn't seem to like the
change, as they found my routine more severe,
and they didn't get the leave they had been used
to, nor did they take kindly to the mixed crew I
had, as they were all pukka Navy. One of the
senior of them committed an act against discipline
on the first day, so I seized the bull by the horns,
publicly disrated him, and never had a minute's
trouble after. He was quite a good fellow, but a
sea lawyer; anyhow, he got his rate back later.
96 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
The crew were all given leave to England, for even
at Queenstown I gave no night leave and only very
restricted other leave.
I wished to stay aboard and personally see to
the fitting of the guns, but Admiral Bayly gave me
a direct order to proceed on leave — the only time
I have received such an order, though I should
often have liked it at other times.
We soon got to know the ropes in Haulbowline
and received every assistance from all the officers
and men, especially Mr. Walker, the constructor,
and Mr. Bennett, the naval store officer.
Admiral Bayly didn't like the look of our wheel
house and said it was a bad disguise. I pointed out
that I had passed him at sea in his flagship and
hadn't been bowled out. In fact, we had exchanged
the usual signals of "What ship? Where from?"
etc., and I had given the usual lies in reply. Any-
how, he threatened to have it removed, but after
much pressing he said, "All right, as you're the
fellow who dangles the gong you can keep it; but
if you don't get a submarine next time you go out,
I shall remove it."
My cabin was seriously messed up at this time
owing to the deck having to be strengthened to
support a gun. Admiral Bayly came into it one
Saturday forenoon and insisted on my having a
new carpet on top of the other to make it warmer.
I said I would see about it, but the admiral, who
"LIVE HUMAN BAIT" 97
always took a personal interest in our welfare, said
that he would do it to make sure there was no mis-
take. He therefore sent an urgent message to the
naval store officer that he was to go on board my
ship at once and have a new carpet installed by the
evening. Poor Bennett1 was just off for his monthly
fishing afternoon, instead of which he had to fit
the master of a collier's cabin with a small square
carpet. I don't think he has recovered from the
shock yet.
While we were in Haulbowline Dockyard the
submarine warfare had started anew and ships
were again being sunk off the Irish coast. We had
been on the job now nearly six months, and for the
activity to start again when we were hors de
combat was almost too much for us; the dockyard
probably well remember it as we were like a dog
tearing at its leash.
We also had to be on the lookout for the work of
Sinn Feiners when in Ireland, and we had a proper
scare one night when Beswick was doing his nine-
o'clock rounds. He heard something ticking, and
not being able to trace it, concluded it was a bomb,
and that we should all be blown up. He was on his
way to me to report, when a seaman, who was
wondering what all the fuss was about, announced
he had bought an alarm clock while on leave and
it was ticking away in his ditty-box.
'The naval store officer.
98 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
We were in dockyard hands some weeks, and the
c.-in-c. was a little anxious about our ship becom-
ing known; special disguises had, therefore, to be
arranged, so that if any photos were taken, the ship
would look quite different when at sea. A complete
false cabin side was built, which made it look as
if all the cabins were outboard instead of in the
middle.
The day before we sailed the c.-in-c. came on
board, and as he was leaving, he said to me at the
gangway, "All right, you get on to Berehaven to-
morrow." It was all over the yard that afternoon
that we were going to Berehaven. I persisted that
I knew nothing about it, and had had no orders
yet, but as someone had actually overheard the
admiral telling me, they merely thought I was
either a knave or a fool.
We sailed the following evening, and when clear
of the harbour our disguises and false cabin side
were demolished and we set course for Milford
Haven, although the navigator had all the charts
ready for Berehaven. After a few days of intensi-
fied drill with our new guns and some new men,
we sallied forth full of hope.
CHAPTER VI
THE "FARNBOROUGH'S" FIRST FIGHT
Waiting Our Chance — Near-by Submarines — ■
Dawn of March 22nd — Torpedo! — First Test of
Discipline — We Destroy the U-68 — Mysterious Visit
of the C-in-C. — Praise from the Admiralty
We had hardly left the harbour when we began
receiving SOS signals and other messages in-
dicating submarine activity. The south coast of
Ireland seemed to be the most promising locality,
so we set our course accordingly.
Each evening I would post a Press Bureau in the
messes, containing the gist of the wireless messages
I had received during the day, touched up by a little
imagination to make them readable. By this means
I kept everyone informed, as far as possible, of
what was going on; also, by apparently telling
everything, it was much easier to keep any real
secret message from being divulged. This latter
was really necessary, as the word "secret" was
used so wholesale during the war that it lost a lot
of its value.
Our sea routine at this time was, of course, varied
99
ioo MY MYSTERY SHIPS
according to the circumstances of the day, but it
worked out something like this:
One hour before sunrise: Call the hands. Drill. Exercise.
Panic party. Boats would not actually be lowered very fre-
quently.
On completion of drill, cruising stations. This meant half
the men would be at the guns.
A few men from the watch below would be told off for
cleaning the bridges, etc.
7:30: Forenoon watch to breakfast.
8:00: Change watches. Second breakfast.
8:30: Watch below clean mess decks.
9:00: Division and prayers.
11:30: Men for afternoon watch to dinner.
12:00: Change watches. Dinner.
3:30: Men for dog watches to tea.
4:00: Change watches. Tea.
4:30: Clear up mess decks.
5:00: Evening quarters. Inspect mess decks.
6:00: Press Bureau issued.
Sunset: Prepare for any changes in disguise.
Half-hour after sunset: Guns' crews fall out. All hands on
deck to alter appearance. This might take one or six hours
— supper being fitted in as convenient. Drill would also take
place if necessary.
9:00: Rounds and report to master.
Special lookouts placed during the night according to visi-
bility and other circumstances.
This, of course, is only a sketch of what we did,
as so many other things had to be done, such as
picking up survivors and coaling ourselves at night.
But the main routine was adhered to as far as
possible.
We found that the painting of bands round our
THE "FARNBOROUGH'S" FIGHT 101
funnels in the pitch dark was no easy job and took
a long time. It will be remembered that we origi-
nally intended to have steel bands in two pieces that
fitted tightly round the funnel, and were then
screwed together; but these, after repeated trials,
having proved impracticable, we had to revert to
painting, and it needed tremendous care and pa-
tience to get the lines straight. But thanks to the
personal care of Beswick and Truscott, who often
went up the funnels themselves, we always pre-
sented a decent funnel band.
In harbour more time could be given to cleaning
the inside of the ship, examining guns, and so on.
My request men and defaulters, which after the
first three months got fewer and fewer, I would
see on the quarter deck. The request men con-
sisted of men who had become due for good-con-
duct badges or who wished to make out allotments;
in fact, anything within reason they wished to
request.
The most amusing case I had to deal with was
during our winter cruising. It must be understood
that although I kept what was called contingency
money aboard for buying provisions, sending tele-
grams, and so on, yet our pay was sent by check
from our depot ship, the Colleen. After payment
one day a man started a buzz that he reckoned
they were being done down by the purser of the
Colleen, and were not receiving their proper pay.
102 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
In a few days Beswick informed me that there was
great discontent among the men about their pay.
Knowing that discontent is a thing to be settled
at once, I had all the crew mustered, and told them
I had heard their grievance and that I wanted each
man to make me out by 9 a.m. the following day
an exact statement of all the money they had re-
ceived since joining the Navy, together with all
their debts to the Crown in the way of slops, in-
surances, and so on. Knowing that some of the men
could hardly read or write and that none of them
were experts at arithmetic, I felt on pretty safe
grounds, and when I mustered them at 9 a.m.
the following day I was informed that no one had
put in a statement as they were all quite satisfied,
and I never had any more such complaints. Al-
though I found out after making official inquiries
that they were, as I expected, entirely without
reason, yet complaints are things which grow un-
less dealt with.
WAITING OUR CHANCE
Cruising certainly became more interesting and
exciting, for when we heard of other ships being
attacked it seemed inevitable that our chance must
come sooner or later. As, however, the submarine
invariably went to a different position after at-
tacking a ship, it was extraordinarily difficult if
not impossible to hit it off. Even if a ship and a
THE "FARNBOROUGH'S" FIGHT 103
submarine wanted to meet each other by ar-
rangement in the middle of the ocean, with limited
visibility and bad weather it would be no easy mat-
ter. Add to this that neither the submarine nor the
ship had any but the vaguest idea of where the
other one was, and the difficulties can be gauged;
but we lived in hope. So intent were all hands on
an engagement that, when we had burnt all our
bunker coal, instead of returning to harbour in
order to replenish we refilled from our cargo— a
slow and tedious business which could be carried
out only in darkness.
We didn't have to wait long for our first excite-
ment, which might have ended very unpleasantly.
We were steaming along as a neutral ship; this at
night was done by having an illuminated sky sign
on top of our wheel house which spelled the na-
tionality we were supposed to be. Arrangements
were of course made to extinguish it should we be-
come engaged; but the whole idea of sailing as
neutral was to avoid night action. About ten o'clock
we sighted a low-lying vessel on our port bow steer-
ing slowly in the opposite direction to us. After
carefully watching her, I came to the conclusion
she was a submarine and put my helm over to ram
her. We had no searchlights on board, so gunfire
would have been of no use. On turning to ram, I
realized my mistake and saw the object was a
patrol sloop. So I returned to my course, but of
io4 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
course she, in her turn, was now suspicious of me
and I was afraid she would open fire. She turned
and closed me and signalled, "What ship?" I
gave our assumed name and added, "Helm
jammed" — my name happened to resemble a
word chiefly used among sailors; she probably
thought I was now trying to insult her as well as
having tried to ram her, as she kept following me
on my quarter and signalling "What ship?" al-
ways with the same reply. It was not till I had got
a secret wireless signal through to her that she
left me alone.
NEAR-BY SUBMARINES
We did everything we could to try to get con-
tact with a submarine. Each day we plotted care-
fully all the reports received to try and see whether
the enemy worked on any system, but apparently,
except that they sometimes seemed to be working
in pairs, I could only imagine that each captain
of a submarine had his own system.
There were one or two places that they all
seemed to make for, such as the principal light-
houses. This was possibly to check their positions
for navigational purposes. It appeared to be some-
thing to go on, and we frequently made for such
lighthouses, so as to be off them at daybreak.
We also tried our previous scheme of stopping
and being "not under control" or "disabled." On
THE -FARNBOROUGH'S" FIGHT 105
another occasion we heard two submarines talking
to each other one night and they appeared to be
fairly close. We thought to encourage them by
making en clair wireless signals to our "owners"
at Liverpool, such as, "Have been delayed by
weather; am now in latitude , longitude ;
expect to arrive Liverpool 6 a.m. Friday." I would
then change my tune and answer myself, saying,
"Your message received." By this means we hoped
to convey to the submarine where we were and
what course we would be steering. It never came
off; possibly she was not listening on our wave-
length. Anyhow, it was a chance worth trying.
We frequently sailed neutral, which needed a lot
of preparation during the hours of darkness, as in
addition to the funnel wanting some special paint-
ing, alterations in the ship had to be made —
the colour boards put in place, the name and port
of registry painted on, and we generally removed
the Plimsoll marks, as I noticed so many neutral
ships didn't have them. It was no use pretending
to be something you weren't unless you attended
to every detail. It will be remembered how the
Emden, when she pretended to be an Allied ship,
had to put up a dummy funnel to complete her
disguise and have the same number as the ship she
hoped to be taken for. There was one disadvantage
of sailing neutral, and that was that it was expected
that submarines would sometimes follow neutral
io6 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
ships, perhaps to find out what routes were being
used or to allay the suspicions of other ships that
there were submarines about.
After a few weeks of trying to secure a meeting
with the enemy, we got news of a submarine com-
ing down the west Irish coast, and, guessing that she
would probably try to sight one of the lights at the
southwest corner before starting on her career of
destruction in the Channel or Bay of Biscay, we set
our course accordingly for the next two days. I
always had in mind that it would be an additional
help to our side to get a submarine before she started
her career of sinkings, as thereby many additional
tons of valuable shipping and many valuable lives
would be saved. Daylight on March 22, 1916, found
us steering up the west coast at 8 knots, represent-
ing a collier flying no colours bound for the north,
and keeping just at the extreme submarine visi-
bility range from the coast.
DAWN OF MARCH 22ND
At 6.40 a.m. the port lookout— Kaye— reported
a suspicious object on the horizon on the port bow,
about five miles distant. A quick look with glasses
disclosed the fact that it was a submarine awash.
It was barely daylight, and a small object so far
away is very deceptive and might easily be a small
fishing craft, especially as submarines frequently
disguised themselves as sailing craft by putting iup
THE "FARNBOROUGH'S" FIGHT 107
masts and sails; but after watching carefully for
a few minutes the submarine submerged, leaving
no doubt as to what the object was. Our position
at the time was latitude 57° 56' N., longitude io°
53' W.
There was nothing to be done except steam quietly
on, the men having already gone to their action
stations at the first report of a suspicious object.
The submarine, on her part, would naturally expect
that she had sighted us (a fairly big object with
smoke) before we had seen her; so, if we wished to
be attacked, no attempt must be made to escape —
in fact, we had to pretend we hadn't seen her. This
was a fairly easy matter for the next twenty min-
utes, though it was rather a novel sensation to us
all when we realized that in a short time we should
almost certainly be attacked by an invisible enemy
and perhaps blown sky-high without the chance of
a shot in reply. I think the most apt expression
I have seen applied to this sort of game is "Live
human bait." It seemed strange also to think that
although we made no alteration of course or speed,
yet we were really the attackers, simulating igno-
rance and eventually defence in order to make our
offence.
torpedo!
So with the guns loaded, their crews concealed
beside them, the man on the bridge watching for
the next move of the enemy, and all the time the
108 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
disinterested crew of the tramp lounging about chat-
ting and smoking, we waited, wondering whether
we would be attacked by gun or torpedo. The
wait may not have been very long by the clock,
but it was terribly long to those on board. The
answer came at seven o'clock, when the track of a
torpedo was seen approaching, which we made no
attempt to avoid. It was fired from our starboard
quarter — a bad position from the submarine's
point of view. The bubbles of the track passed under
the forecastle, which meant that the torpedo had
just missed us ahead. We therefore maintained our
course and took no outward notice, as a tramp
steamer (at that time) could not be expected to
know what a torpedo track looked like, and in
any case the lookouts would neither be numerous
nor very bright at that hour of the morning.
We could have escaped with ease if we had been
an ordinary steamer by putting our stern toward
her and steaming off at full speed. She might have
opened fire with her gun, but under the weather
conditions prevailing the steamer would have got
away.
FIRST TEST OF DISCIPLINE
To the men concealed at the guns and elsewhere
this was the first great test of the discipline and
drill we had been training for, as it was obvious
that the submarine might fire another torpedo and
perhaps successfully. All remained quiet, and the
THE "FARNBOROUGH'S" FIGHT 109
men, lounging about, continued to smoke their
pipes. One young seaman was whistling at his gun,
because, as he explained when asked what he was
doing, "if he didn't whistle he would get scared."
A few minutes after the torpedo had missed us,
the submarine came to the surface astern of the
ship and steamed up on our port side. As she came
up, her gun was manned and she fired a shot across
our bows as a signal to stop. After firing her shot
she closed down and partially submerged again,
obviously ready to dive in a few seconds if we at-
tempted to ram. But in the meantime we had
proceeded with our pantomime as prearranged,
and as soon as the shot fell the engines were
stopped, steam was blown off, and the panic
party got busy. Their methods have already been
described, and they entered into the spirit of it
with more zeal than ever — a great scrambling for
the boats took place, which apparently satisfied
the submarine as to our bona fides, for she came
right on the surface again and closed toward the
ship, this before we had even got to the stage of
lowering the boats. I was still rushing about the
bridge and had not yet been relieved of my cap
by the navigator. The submarine was evidently
in a hurry to get on with the business and go after
another prey, as she fired a shot at us which fell
just short of the magazine, a matter of a few feet.
She was now about 800 yards off, showing full
no MY MYSTERY SHIPS
length, and although the range was a little bit
greater than I wished, the time had come to open
fire before she might touch off our magazines. I
therefore blew my whistle. At this signal the White
Ensign flew at the masthead, the wheel house and
side ports came down with a clatter, the hen coop
collapsed, and in a matter of seconds three 12-
pounder guns, the Maxim, and rifles were firing
as hard as they could. The submarine had been
successfully decoyed to a suitable position on the
surface with her lid open and gun manned. Every-
thing now depended on the accuracy of the fire;
but the target was a comparatively small one, and
we had no range finders to help us, so that the dis-
tance of the target was reckoned by eye. The fire
was accurate, and before the submarine could get
closed down again we had hit her several times
as she slowly submerged. In all, 21 rounds were
fired from the three 12-pounders, one gun getting
off 13 rounds. The Maxim and rifles wasted no time
in getting off some 200 rounds at the personnel on
the deck of the submarine, who were manning the
gun, but now rapidly sought shelter inside the
U-boat.
WE DESTROY THE U-68
As soon as she had submerged and there was
nothing more to fire at, we steamed at full speed
to the spot where she had gone down, for at the mo-
THE "FARNBOROUGH'S" FIGHT in
ment there was nothing actually to show whether
she had been destroyed or not, although we knew
we had hit her, as she had closed her conning tower
before diving. Two depth charges were therefore
dropped, and almost simultaneously the submarine,
that had obviously been trying to rise, came up
nearly perpendicular, touching our bottom as she
did so. We were still steaming ahead when the sub-
marine passed down our side a few yards off, and
it could now be seen that in addition to a periscope
having been shot off there was a big rent in the
bows. Our after-gun was leaving nothing to chance
and put a few more rounds in at point-blank range.
A couple more depth charges were released, and the
surface of the sea became covered with oil and
small pieces of wood — but there was no living soul.
This boat, it was ascertained afterward, was
the U-68, and by destroying her before she got to
her hunting ground we had done exactly what we
set out for. The great feeling of rejoicing and
relief to all on board showed itself in the whole
crew rushing to the bridge and cheering. This
might appear as a relaxation of discipline, but it
was really a strengthening of it. When all were pres-
ent, I read the " Prayer of Thanksgiving for Vic-
tory" from the Book of Common Prayer, followed
by three cheers for the King, and then all went
back to cruising stations, but not before one of
the wags had produced the gramophone and put
U2 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
on the record of "Down among the dead men
let him lie."
This success had a good effect for the decoy
ships in general, as it had been many months
since the previous happy results, but we on board
little thought that it would be nearly a year before
we had another successful action, and that though
the game was difficult already, it was to become
more so.
Our immediate thoughts were to stay at sea and
look for another U-boat, which we proceeded to do,
but the c.-in-c. wished us to return to Queenstown.
We arrived the following morning at 7 a.m., and the
admiral's barge came alongside with a personal let-
ter of congratulations as well as some new-laid eggs,
which I had no doubt Miss Voysey had been out
to collect for me. These small acts of thoughtfulness
on the part of a busy admiral and a busier niece
were what helped to make Queenstown what it
was, not only to us but also to the Americans when
they came over. At 9 a.m. I saw the c.-in-c. and got
the usual question, "When will you be ready for
sea?" I gave our usual reply, and we sailed again
at noon, but not before he had come on board and
talked to the whole crew, telling them how he ap-
preciated the way they had stuck all the winter
gales, how our success was due to good discipline
and training, and that had one man made a mis-
take the action would have been a failure. It
THE " FARNBOROUGH 'S " FIG H T 113
wasn't often the admiral made speeches, so we
were particularly pleased and proud. I think one
of the things that especially gratified the admiral
was that my signals reporting the action had ar-
rived while he was having his breakfast, and he
said they were as good as a morning paper. They
were brief, but contained all that was necessary.
They ran as follows:
"From Farnborough. 6.40. Hull of submarine
seen. Position, latitude 570 56' 30" N.; longitude
io° 53' 45" W.
"7:05. Ship being fired at by submarine.
"7:45. Have sunk enemy's submarine.
"8:10. Shall I return to report or look for an-
other?"
Reply from c.-in-c, Queenstown: "Very well
done. Please return to Queenstown."
To outsiders it may have appeared that we had
earned a little rest and perhaps leave, but we had
great confidence in our c.-in-c, who knew that the
pat on the back and off to sea again were all we
wished, so long as submarines were about.
. MYSTERIOUS VISIT OF C.-IN-C.
About a week later, while we were at sea, a
message was received from the c.-in-c. ordering
us to call in at Queenstown next time we were pass-
II4 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
ing. We happened to be fairly close at the time, so
I made for the port. Admiral Bayly was in his
barge in the Outer Roads, and hailed me to go up
harbour to a buoy and said he would be coming
on board. Miss Voysey was with him, and I re-
gretted she would not be allowed on board, but one
of the strictest Queenstown orders was that no
ladies were allowed on board any ships in wartime.
I had to break it once when I picked up two lady
survivors. I proceeded to the buoy, but we had
some difficulty in securing, owing to the cable
getting jammed. In the meantime, the admiral came
on board accompanied by his flag captain— he had
never done such a thing before, and I scented
trouble of some sort. Perhaps the coal-heaving
episode had leaked out! He ordered me to have all
the crew mustered, and we walked about while
waiting for them to be collected. There was some
delay, as Mr. Mate and his hands were still working
on the forecastle, the admiral was getting impa-
tient, the flag captain was beginning to scowl, so,
having already made up my mind a storm was
brewing, I went forward myself and told Beswick
to bring everyone along and finish securing later.
We were riding to the buoy with only one wire and
an ebb tide was running, so that it was a bit of a
risk— quite unjustifiable— but I hoped with luck
the wire would hold.
THE "FARNBOROUGH'S" FIGHT 115
PRAISE FROM THE ADMIRALTY
The admiral now came to the mess deck, and in-
stead of any strafing he read to us all assembled a
letter from the Admiralty, in which they conveyed
their high commendation of our recent action,
which they thought was due to thorough organiza-
tion and good nerve, and that all concerned de-
served great credit.
They had promoted me to the rank of comman-
der and awarded several advancements to some rat-
ings. In addition to this, £1,000 was awarded the
ship to be divided in various proportions to all on
board except commissioned officers of the Royal
Navy (the only person being affected was myself).
Further, the admiral read out rewards which had
been bestowed on various officers and men by
H. M. the King.
As he was leaving the mess deck I heard a report
and knew at once that our wire had parted. Imag-
ine my thoughts! Here I had just received my brass
hat, and the first thing to happen was to have my
ship — an awkward one at that — adrift in the har-
bour, for reasons which would have to be given
as lack of seamanlike precautions. I pretended I
did not know what had happened, and having
winked my eye to Beswick and the chief, who
rushed to their respective duties on the forecastle
n6 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
and engine room, I escorted the admiral with such
calmness as I could muster to the gangway. The
usual exchange of "When will you be ready for
sea?" "Ready now, sir," having taken place, I
rushed to the bridge and put the engine-room tele-
graph "full ahead," and with what sailors generally
call "God's help and a fair wind" I was able to get
hold of the buoy again— but it was a very narrow
squeak.
The admiral, when he shoved off, noticed that
the wire had parted, and hailed me to know if I
wanted a tug; I should have loved one, but lies
came so readily to my tongue in those days that
I said, "No, thank you, sir; everything is quite
all right, as we have a second wire on." I don't
suppose he believed me; anyhow, "All's well that
ends well," and he said nothing.
We went to sea again on the flood tide the next
morning, thoroughly pleased with ourselves and
the world.
List of Awards after Sinking the U-68
Distinguished Service Order
Lieutenant-Commander Gordon Campbell.
Distinguished Service Cross
Lieutenant W. Beswick, R.N.R.
Engineer-Lieutenant Leonard S. Loveless, R.N.R.
THE " FARNBOROUGH'S " FIGHT 117
Distinguished Service Medal
Chief Petty Officer George H. Truscott.
Wireless Telegraph Operator Allan Andrews, R.
N.R.
Engine Room Artificer A. W. Morrison, R.N.R.
Promotions
Lieutenant-Commander Gordon Campbell, R.N.,
to Commander.
A.B.C. Webb, R.F.R., and Seaman A. Kaye,
R.N.R., advanced to Leading Seamen.
Petty Officer C. Dowie advanced two years' senior-
ity.
CHAPTER VII
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH
Second Encounter — Dutch War Drama — Success? —
Tragedy and Humour — Reward for Labours
After the sinking of U-68 and our brief visit to
Queenstown we continued to cruise around the
southwest and west coasts of Ireland. After our
rather strenuous winter it was marvellous what a
brightening up had taken place since our success-
ful action; although we had never given up hope of
an action sooner or later, we were beginning to
wonder whether we were on a dud show or not. In
fact, I think our success bucked up the whole
Queenstown Command, as not only we but dozens
of sloops, trawlers, drifters, and other craft had
been going out day after day — always hoping, but
invariably going back without any fun. The sub-
marine activity was still going on and we had
great hopes of another action. My Press Bureau
messages were read with extra enthusiasm, and a
typical one may be of interest.
Press Bureau, 6 p.m. S.S. Farnborough.
At 5:30 this morning an S O S was received from an un-
known ship about 100 miles away. At 7:30 H.M. sloop
118
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH
119
picked up 25 survivors from S.S. , which was torpedoed
and sunk at 6 o'clock last night.
At 9:05 S.S. reported sighting periscope off the Fast-
net, and H.M. sloop also saw one (probably the same)
about 11 o'clock and dropped depth charges. Almost at the
same time an S O S was heard from a neutral ship in the Bay
of Biscay.
Apparently a mine field has been discovered off Queens-
town, as traffic has been stopped there. At 12 o'clock one of
the Berehaven trawlers saw a submarine on the surface, but
too far off to attack.
The S.S. , homeward bound from Canada, was tor-
pedoed at 3 p.m., off Ballycotton, probably by the same
submarine that was sighted off the Fastnet. A sloop has her
in tow, and hopes to get her in.
U.S.S. sighted slick of oil off Fastnet at 3 :30 P.M.
A message was intercepted about 4 p.m. saying that all
mines outside Queenstown had been swept up and traffic
resumed.
We are now about 50 miles southwest of Bull Rock and
steering north, still hoping to intercept the submarine which
is apparently coming south down the west coast. We should
be close to him sometime to-morrow forenoon.
Ship will sail as S.S. — —
Weather forecast is not very promising.
Gordon Campbell.
Master.
The number of reports varied each day, but it
was seldom that there was nothing to announce in
the Press Bureau. I always put something up, even
if it was an extra dull one, as it kept the crew's
interest up and gave them something to talk about
at supper. Unfortunately we were unable to get
any press news, as we had to reserve our only set of
wireless, and that a small one, for service messages.
i2o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
We continued to cruise off the southwest coast
of Ireland. This still seemed a good hunting ground,
as the submarines that came north about had to
pass the area. The entrance to the Channel or
the Irish Sea often looked attractive, but there was
more risk in those areas of being interfered with by
patrol craft, trawlers, etc.; and although our ac-
tions were only one submarine and one ship, it was
essential from our point of view that we should
have a big ring. There was also the additional con-
sideration, already mentioned, of trying to get
the submarine before she started on her career of
destruction.
SECOND ENCOUNTER
We had not long to wait before encountering
another submarine. One was reported off the Ork-
ney Islands on April 13th, and, working on our
previous ideas, we set off to try to intercept her off
the southwest coast again.
The weather at this period was none of the best —
not that it ever had been particularly good — and
gales were frequent. On the 15th a very heavy At-
lantic swell was rolling in after one of these gales;
a heavy mist hung over the sea, and the visibility
was barely two miles. At 6:30 p. m. on this day we
were steaming northward and in nearly the same
position as we had been when we engaged the U-68.
Suddenly a large ship was seen in the mist on our
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH 121
starboard beam, steering in an opposite direction;
her nationality could not be made out, though she
appeared to be of a foreign build. As we were look-
ing at her a submarine was suddenly seen on the
surface between the two of us, but closer to the
other ship than to us. We didn't actually see her
break surface, as the atmosphere was too thick to
see anything very distinctly. This other ship turned
out to be the Dutch steamer Soerakarta.
DUTCH WAR DRAMA
The submarine hoisted a signal, which we could
not read, owing to the weather conditions, so I
hoisted the answering pendant, commercial code
of course, at the dip, meaning "Signal seen, but
not understood." I had guessed — and, as I ascer-
tained from later information, rightly — that the
signal was T.A.F., which meant, "Send your pa-
pers on board." In any case I assumed it would be
a signal of some sort to stop, so the engines were
stopped and steam blown off, which was the most
visible outward sign I could give that the engines
were stopped, as it was too thick for him to judge
by eye. Although stopped, I jogged ahead every
now and then, as we were lying in the trough of
the swell and rolling heavily — a thing we wished
to avoid — as it would make firing too difficult. In
the meantime, I hoisted the signal, " Cannot under-
stand your signal," and at the same time the bridge
122 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
boat was turned out and Engineer Sub-Lieutenant
Smith having borrowed my precious hat, assumed
the role of master, and was about to take our
"papers" over to the submarine, the idea being
to allay suspicion as well as entice the submarine
nearer. This was one of the drills we had rehearsed
for, as at this period of war it frequently happened
that a ship was ordered to send over her papers.
The "papers" consisted of a bundle of such as I
kept in the chart room for the purpose.
The submarine was probably just as unable to
read our signal as we hers. That I couldn't know
for certain, as my flags were high up and free from
being masked, as hers were by her conning tower.
I had in mind that she must also be anxious to carry
off a double event. The boat was nearly in the
water when she fired a shot at us which whistled
overhead; this was ten minutes after she had been
sighted on the surface. In the still air the sound
of the gun seemed very close, and unfortunately
one of my guns' crews thought we had opened fire,
and that for some reason they hadn't received the
order. In consequence they started to fire. This
forced my hand, and I was obliged to give the gen-
eral order to open fire, which brought all the guns
into action as before. The submarine was full length
on the surface, but about 1,000 yards away; so
with the mist and swell shooting was extremely
difficult. Twenty rounds were got off from the
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH 123
12-pounders, and a number from the 6-pounders,
Maxim, and rifles. The shooting was good under
the circumstances — two distinct hits were seen in
front of the conning tower, and a small explosion
took place, probably of the ammunition which was
at her gun. She was obviously damaged, as she
appeared to lie at an awkward angle before sub-
merging. We at once steamed to the position
where she had submerged, and, as on the previous
occasion, there was nothing to indicate whether she
was destroyed or only damaged. Two depth charges
were accordingly dropped; but, alas! no oil or
anything else came to the surface of the water,
which in these parts was very deep, and if she had
gone right to the bottom one wouldn't expect any.
With engines stopped I remained in the vicinity
for a couple of hours after the Soerakarta had pro-
ceeded, hoping that if the submarine were not
destroyed she would come to the surface at dark,
which was now setting in, as I did not think she
would let two steamers go off scot free if undam-
aged. I was rather asking for unnecessary trouble
by stopping so long after our identity as a man-of-
war had been disclosed, as she might have tor-
pedoed us till we sank, but at the time I felt certain
we had damaged her, if not actually destroyed her,
and it struck me that if damaged she might come
up at any moment out of action — so we didn't
want to miss the opportunity of inflicting any fur-
i24 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
ther damage necessary for destruction, should she
do so.
This submarine is supposed to have gone on
down to the mouth of the Channel and attacked
other ships. Why she didn't torpedo us I don't
know, but nothing further was seen or heard.
In the meantime the armed patrol trawler Ina
Williams, who had heard our depth charges, had
come up, and I sent her to board the Soerakarta
to make sure I had not damaged the latter in any
way, as she had been almost in the line of fire;
and also to obtain information as to what she had
seen, as she had been closer to the submarine than
ourselves. The Dutchman reported that the sub-
marine had been struck by our second shot and
had sunk by the stern. They also said that the
German crew who were manning the gun had been
unable to regain the conning tower and had gone
down with the submarine. They further stated
that the submarine had fired a torpedo at us which
had gone wide, but was not seen by anyone on
board.
SUCCESS?
The following account appeared in a Dutch paper
on April 24, 1916, and shows what it all looked like
to them:
The crew of the Dutch steamer Soerakarta, which ar-
rived yesterday at Rotterdam from Java, were spectators
ofF the English coast of a memorable war incident. One of
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH
125
the members of the crew related the following: "We were sud-
denly compelled to stop by a German submarine. The cap-
tain obeyed the order, and the Germans told us to come to
the U-boat with the ship's papers. This order was also, of
course, obeyed. But scarcely was our boat let down in order
to take the ship's papers to the submarine when something
tremendous occurred. It was still foggy, and we suddenly
saw in the obscurity a gray ship loom up. Sails on the mys-
terious ship were pushed aside, and at the same time some
guns vomited a hellish fire. The German submarine had
caught sight of the masked ship probably sooner than we,
for it had launched a torpedo, which, however, went wide.
Hit by the terrible fire that flew around, near us too, the
German submarine sank in the deep. This war drama was
over in a very short time."
Shortly after this the German authorities ad-
mitted, according to the Dutch paper, that the sub-
marine engaged in stopping the Soerakarta was
struck by shots from the British ship, but was only
slightly damaged. The date of the event was given
as the 13th — our action was the 15th. At the time
we were unable to claim a "certainty," as there
was no direct evidence of destruction in the form of
oil or anything else, although this is not always
essential proof. At the same time there was the
testimony of the Soerakarta, which had no doubt
about it, but then she could hardly be expected to
understand much about submarines.
The chances at the time were given as 90 per cent.,
and a letter of appreciation was received from the
Admiralty, together with the grant of £1,000 to the
ship's company. Engineer Sub-Lieutenant Grant
126 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and
the Distinguished Service Medal was awarded to
Petty Officer Dowie of the after-gun, Stoker Petty
Officer W. Fenney, and Seaman Orr. The feelings
of us all on board at the time were that we weren't
certain, and rejoicing was tempered with that feel-
ing. When I came to investigate that night carefully
what everyone had seen, it was extraordinary what
A SMALL OPEN BOAT WITH FOUR MEN IN IT
different impressions had been left on each mind.
Some had seen her go by the stern, some by the
bow, some to starboard, and some to port; all had
seen an explosion, which I also could vouch for,
as owing to the distance and weather I was able to
stand exposed on the bridge and watch through
glasses. Unfortunately, it was only a small explo-
sion, and struck me at the time, as I have men-
tioned, as being a box of ammunition. There are
probably some who are quite positive that the sub-
marine was destroyed, but the records show that
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH 127
the submarine got back all right. To what extent
she was damaged, or whether any casualties were
suffered, I do not know. This was the last mystery-
ship action that took place in home waters till
October.
This action is an example of how a submarine
would return and report the existence of mystery
ships, thereby putting the U-boats more on their
guard and making it harder for them to be decoyed,
as will be shown in later chapters, though it is quite
possible in this particular case that, owing to the
thick weather, the submarine had very little idea of
what we looked like, and he may even have thought
we were an ordinary defensively armed merchant
ship. I was running no unnecessary chances,
whether we had been successful or not, and by the
time daylight came we looked a different ship,
having brought into force one of our semi-large
disguises.
Continuing to cruise after this action and after
calling at Queenstown to report, we had a rather
unusual false alarm. One calm afternoon we sighted
what we thought was the conning tower of a sub-
marine; the alarm was sounded, everything and
everyone were ready for the action. To our sur-
prise, the submarine did not submerge, and, as
we drew closer, still remained stationary. There
appeared to be no doubt about her being a subma-
rine, owing to her shape and size, and we could only
i28 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
conclude that she was so damaged as to be unable
to dive. We therefore closed her without any great
alteration, of course, but, just as the order to open
fire was on my tongue, I observed a shiver of what
I thought was the conning tower. Fire was checked
for further investigation, and it turned out to be a
small open boat with four men in it, who had had
their vessel, a British sailing ship, sunk out in the
Atlantic. They had been several days in the open,
without food or drink, and were unconscious, but
had, as a last effort, hung up a coat between two
perpendicular oars, which produced the resem-
blance to a conning tower. After nourishment they
regained consciousness. One of them turned out to
be an American youth, who amused us by saying
he would write direct to the president to make the
Germans "sit up" for torpedoing him (although he
was on a British ship). The captain was quite
pathetic when he described how his ship had sunk,
the last thing seen being the Red Ensign at the
masthead. We took them into Queenstown and
had them sent ashore. I didn't worry any more
about them, as I knew that, like all shipwrecked
mariners landed at Queenstown during the war,
they would be well looked after. Whatever the
hour of the day or night Miss Voysey— the busiest
war-worker in Queenstown — always found time
to see they had coffee, etc., and she was generally
accompanied by the admiral himself.
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH
129
TRAGEDY AND HUMOUR
It was strange how a tragic thing such as had
just happened could be combined with a humorous
affair. As we were approaching the harbour (it
must be remembered as an ordinary tramp), there
was coming out a man-of-war — a sloop commanded
by a lieutenant enjoying his first command. We
were steering on slightly converging courses, which
involved risk of collision, and it was his duty,
according to the rule of the road, to get out of
my way, but I guessed his thoughts: he expected
the dirty old tramp to make room for his important
command. I held on until eventually he had to
alter his course, and he then passed close alongside,
when he not only cursed me full and hearty for not
getting out of his way, but called me all the names
he could think of. The only suitable reply I could
think of at the time was "that if he had only
remained with his father in their greengrocer's
shop, he wouldn't be displaying his ignorance of
the rule of the road."
I had many opportunities of this sort for having
quiet leg pulls at my brother officers, but they
aren't all suitable for repeating. Sometimes I got
the worst of the back chat, when the other fellow
guessed the tramp was not what she looked to be.
This generally happened with the sloops we met at
Berehaven.
i3o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
It was about this time, when I had called in at
Queenstown to make my report, that another
surprise was in store for us. I have already men-
tioned that although the ship carried over 5,000
tons of coal, she was not fitted as a collier, and the
ventilation was not good. One night the coal in
one of the big holds was found to be at danger
heat and partially afire, so we had to set to and take
out several hundred tons. It was lucky we were
at Queenstown at the time, as with the expert ad-
vice of Mr. I. Bennett, the naval store officer and
an " honorary member" of the ship, we were able to
avoid what might have been a bad fire. It meant
working all night — not an uncommon thing in the
Navy in wartime.
We went to sea again and cruised till early in
May. The submarine activity had completely died
down, and didn't start afresh for several months,
for at this particular time I think the submarines
had been recalled for operations in the North Sea.
There was not, therefore, any excitement in the
way of submarine hunting, but we intercepted wire-
less which gave us news of the rebellion in Ireland;
we hoped we would be ordered to Dublin or Gal-
way, but the c.-in-c. had more suitable craft for
that sort of job, and also a greater submarine
activity might be connected with the rebellion.
Nothing came along; we were recalled to Queens-
town, and had anchored in the Outer Roads, when
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH 131
I saw my brother's ship, H.M.S. Albion, in har-
bour. I was surprised to see a battleship there, but
she was acting as guard ship and the harbour was
also being patrolled with guard boats. I let my
brother know where I was, and he came off to see
me, and was thoroughly disgusted at my get-up:
I was wearing a moustache. He invited me to dine
with him, which I did, and spent many hours yarn-
ing. I think the guard boat was rather surprised
at seeing a boat going to the Outer Roads at 1 a.m.,
and still more surprised when the answer to the
hail was "Master of S.S. Farnborough."
After a few days at Queenstown and when every-
thing was quiet again we sailed for Plymouth, to
enjoy our four days' leave and a refit, and to spin
such yarns as fertile brains could concoct.
REWARD FOR LABOURS
This four days' leave had been granted as part
of our reward for sinking the U-68, and I had been
enjoined to impress on my crew the necessity for
secrecy in connection with their awards, etc. But
it seemed to me to send a man on leave with a
decoration on his chest, a portion of bounty in his
pocket, and make him promise not to tell anything
to his wife or sweetheart was asking too much
of human nature. I therefore told them what they
were not to say, such as our methods, locality, date,
number of submarine, etc., but outside of that
i32 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
they could spin any yarn they liked to account for
their rewards. Knowing what imagination sailors
have, I have often thought that it may have been
through this that all kinds of extraordinary yarns
were started and believed — such as bombs dis-
guised as^babies being thrown down conning towers.
Though this particular
yarn may be true as far
as I know, it certainly
had no connection with
us. I went ashore wearing
my brass hat and com-
mander's rank for the
first time, but I was also
wearing a fine ginger
beard of which I was
very proud. I expected
my wife would greet me
in the approved picture-
paper fashion, by throw-
ing her arms around my neck and weeping down my
back, but not a bit of it — all I got was, "Shave off
that dirty thing at once, and then I will kiss you."
What a reward for my labours !
The crew always enjoyed Plymouth, as I was able
to give a lot of leave. We lay with other men-of-war,
and used to wear uniforms. One of my officers
happened to be the son of a publican, and he re-
turned from leave with two large bottles of cham-
THEY COULD SPIN ANY YARN
THEY LIKED
U-BOATS, AND TIN FISH 133
pagne bulging out of his pockets. He reported
himself, and said he wished me to accept them, as
they were the best in his father's house. I had to
send for him in my cabin and point out that he
had infringed two regulations, firstly, in bringing
wine aboard in a non-authorized way, and secondly,
LAYING AT ANCHOR
for offering his captain presents. He was profuse
with apologies and pleaded ignorance, which I quite
believed; so I told him he could either take them
ashore again or officially enter them in the ward-
room stores and keep them for the whole mess to
enjoy if we got another submarine. Some few days
later he came to dine with myself and wife. He
arrived with a little brown bag, which he handed
to my wife, and said, "I have looked up the regula-
tions and find that although I may not give these
134 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
to the captain, they say nothing about his wife."
Needless to say, we had a very cheery supper party.
Much to my own regret and to that of the whole
ship, I had to send Beswick to hospital. He to-
gether with Truscott had really had the hardest
work of all; it didn't matter what had to be done,
they were always there, and Beswick had unfor-
tunately found the strain too much. I was indeed
sorry to lose him, a fine seaman and a good pal.
They always say that no man is so good that he
can't be replaced, and I was lucky in running across
Ronald Stuart, of the Canadian Pacific Line, a dif-
ferent type of man, but equally efficient. He had the
advantage of having everything in running order,
instead of starting at the beginning, as Beswick had
to do, and so was on the top line by the time we
sailed.
Another change also took place, the Q-ship title
having come into being: we now officially became
H.M.S. Q-5, which was the address used on our
letters, they being sent from the Admiralty under
cover to the mail officer at Queenstown. We our-
selves were known as "Admiralty Collier Q-5"
for the purposes of going in and out of naval ports.
I remember my mother had been rather worried
about addressing my letters to S.S. Farnborough
without any naval rank. When I got promoted and
was awarded the D.S.O., she came to the con-
clusion I must be on a dangerous job; previously
U-BOATS AND TIN FISH 135
she was not quite certain whether I had disgraced
the family or what was going on. I was now able to
write that my full style and title could be placed
on my letters, as I had left the S.S. Farnborough
and gone to H.M.S. Q-5. The reply I got was,
"You naughty boy, you have gone from one dan-
gerous job to a worse one, a horrible submarine."
On becoming H.M.S. Q-5 we also became an in-
dependent command, which was a great improve-
ment in every way. It meant I had a purser on
board of my own — whom I have already referred
to and shall do so again. This made us now entirely
independent of the Colleen for pay or anything else.
I had long asked for this arrangement, but it is
rather unusual for a ship with a small ship's com-
pany, such as a destroyer, to have a paymaster; but
then, we weren't a usual ship, and it was obvious
that a lot of correspondence with a parent ship was
undesirable from every point of view.
CHAPTER VIII
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER
Alarms — Sinister Thirteenth Day — We Intercept
the Enemy — The Quarry — A Bad Shot — Open Season
for Submarines
We left Plymouth just after the Battle of Jutland
and returned to Queenstown. As there was no
submarine activity on at all, we were ordered up
harbour. Admiral Bayly had a habit of going aboard
his ships at any time without notice, but I was
rather taken aback one quiet afternoon to walk into
one of the gun cabins to find the c.-in-c. there,
and although we didn't up harbour have a raan-o'-
war lookout walking up and down, I took the
precaution in future of having a spy.
On June 6th we were lying peacefully at our buoy
and wondering if the submarine warfare would
start again, when I got a message to say the ad-
miral wished to see me. This was about four o'clock,
and I went straight up the hill to report. He told
me that the Hampshire had been sunk with Lord
Kitchener on board, and that she had probably
been torpedoed, in which case the submarine would
probably be on her way south down the west coast,
and he wanted me to go and look for her.
136
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER 137
It is difficult to realize what a great shock the
death of Lord Kitchener was to the country and to
the individual. I went straight on board, and in an
hour or so we were at sea, the men full of enthusiasm
and also that horrible word revenge. We steamed
as hard as we could toward the west coast and
then up it, getting as far as Galway, but without
any further news of the submarine. Soon after we
received information that the disaster was due to
a mine, and we reluctantly gave up the hunt, but
remained at sea. It was better than being in har-
bour, even though unfortunately— from our point
of view — there were no submarines about at this
time. Yet as a result of the Irish Rebellion which
had recently taken place a sharp lookout was being
kept for raiders and gun runners. These ships were
ostensibly merchant ships like ourselves, but the
raiders were generally heavily armed, and went all
over the world attacking our ships by gunfire,
torpedoes, and mines; it was not their practice to
operate in coastal waters, except by mines, as
the risk of a counter-attack would be too great.
Although we, as I will mention later, only once
deliberately went after one, yet we were always on
the lookout when we saw anything suspicious
about a steamer or her course, and would get all our
ammunition up and the hoses running water on the
deck, in case of fire.
We chiefly expected gun runners on the Irish
i38 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
coast, and these probably would be lightly armed
or unarmed. We had the experience of both suspect-
ing and being suspected.
ALARMS
It was on the occasion mentioned above that
when proceeding up the west coast of Ireland we
ALL READY FOR THE ACTION WITH THE RAIDER
sighted a steamer which at once excited our suspi-
cion. She was flying a red ensign, a thing British
ships never did at that time; she was also steering
on a course that led only to a small uninhabited bay
on the west coast. These two circumstances were
sufficient to make her very suspect. Had I been
a man-of-war, outwardly as well as inwardly, I
should have chased and boarded her at once. As
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER 139
it was we were in the awkward position of being
ostensibly a neutral steamer. Needless to say,
we asserted our real selves; the guns were brought
to the ready and everything was prepared for an
attack. A slight alteration of course was drawing us
closer, and our procedure presently would have
been to run up the White Ensign and order her to
stop, taking care that the position was advanta-
geous to us. As we approached, I was watching
her every movement and detail, but suddenly I
beheld bluejackets' service flannels hanging up to
dry. That gave the show away: she was obviously
one of our own mystery ships. This turned out
definitely to be the case, for she had just come on
to the station and we knew nothing about her.
Here is an example of the great care in detail that
was necessary for a decoy ship to take so as to avoid
suspicion. On another occasion at a much later
date I met a steamer in the vicinity of the place
where Casement was landed in Ireland. She was
a neutral, and aroused our suspicion so much that
eventually, after loading the guns, I hoisted the
White Ensign, ordered her to stop, and sent an officer
to board her— but she proved to be in order.
The reverse case happened to us shortly after-
ward. We were steaming toward the Bristol
Channel under neutral colours in rather thick
weather; when it eventually cleared we found our-
selves nearer the channel than we expected. Ob-
140 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
serving our rule, we did not wish to alter course in
daylight, for there was always the off chance that
a submarine was watching; on the other hand, if
we continued our course and speed, we would hit
the land in the Bristol Channel before dark. I
therefore reduced our speed to 6 knots. Shortly
after this we met four British trawlers on patrol. We
had a copy of their signal books on board, and
were, therefore, able to read the signals that the
senior officer made to his flotilla, and they caused
us much amusement. His total armament was only
four 6-pounders, and we could easily have sunk the
lot. The trawlers obviously suspected us, as the
signal was made for two to take up positions on
either side of my bows and then "Prepare for
action." We could see the men getting their boxes
of ammunition on to their forecastles all ready for
the action with the raider.
A signal was made to us to "Stop instantly,"
which we at once obeyed, and we saw the senior
officer — a lieutenant R.N.R. — himself coming over
to board us. As it happened, one of my officers
spoke the language of the nationality we were
assuming, and I sent him to the ladder to spout
it at the officer on his arrival. By an extraordinary
coincidence, the boarding officer also spoke it, and
it made him all the more sure we were a raider. I
could see by his face when he came on board that he
quite expected to be shot on the spot, and I thought
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER 141
it very plucky of him to have come on board.
He had, of course, left orders to his command as
to what to do if he didn't return.
Once aboard I had him brought to my cabin,
told him who we were, and asked him to maintain
secrecy and tell his fellows we were all right. On
inquiring why he suspected us, he said he was
on the lookout for raiders, and our slow speed
had made him suspect we were hanging about wait-
ing for darkness— which we certainly were— but
not for the purpose he quite naturally and rightly
thought.
All June and July passed without any further
excitement, as there were no submarines about,
and the weather was at last very pleasant, but for
long stretches we were fogbound. We spent some
of the time at Milford Haven: we had used Bere-
haven so much that a temporary change of base
was desirable, especially after the rebellion.
Milford Haven was not a bad place to lie at, and
we were able to get country walks on the opposite
side to Old Milford, but it had the disadvantage
of being some distance to the sea and a nasty place
to get out of in a fog.
While lying here we got sudden orders to proceed
to Lough Swilly, and had to struggle out of harbour
and up the Irish Sea in one of the dense fogs which
were so frequent that year. We, of course, all won-
dered what the meaning of this sudden movement
i42 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
was, as we had never been to Lough Swilly before,
but it soon became clear. It was at this time that
the German submarine Deutschland made her
famous trip to New York, and the c.-in-c. at
Queenstown decided to use all his decoy ships —
about twelve — so as to try to intercept her on her
homeward voyage. It was for this purpose that we
went to Lough Swilly ready to sail as soon as the
Deutschland left New York. We sailed on August
5th, and made our way into the Atlantic as far west
as 300, and then, after making various calculations,
we got on to a "Great Circle" course such as we ex-
pected she would take. The Deutschland was an
unarmed ship, and there was really little likelihood
of getting her, unless caught unawares at night or in
thick weather, as otherwise she could always sub-
merge as soon as she sighted a steamer; also, as she
was a merchant submarine, we couldn't have sunk
her on sight. We should have been obliged to hoist
the White Ensign, order her to stop, and could
only have taken offensive action had she tried to
escape. The weather was bad, and there was little
hope of seeing her, but we heard suspicious wireless
signals close to us, and kept on till we got to the
Rockall Bank. This we reached at dark, and we
then heard apparently German wireless quite close
to us. Although we had only negative results, we
hoped that we might have assisted toward locating
her track.
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER 143
SINISTER THIRTEENTH DAY
There was nothing further to be done, and we
set our course southward, when a more interesting
chase unexpectedly came to us.
At 8 p.m. on the 18th — our thirteenth day out —
we were steaming south, disguised as a neutral,
when a submarine was sighted nearly on the port
beam, about five miles distant and steering in an
opposite and parallel course at an estimated speed
of 9 knots. It was just sunset, and we were showing
well up against the setting sun. She, on the other
hand, was only indistinctly visible against the
land. We continued on our course without taking
any notice, and put on our steaming lights at the
usual time. It soon became obvious that she didn't
intend to attack us, as she remained steaming
northward on the surface, and there could be no
doubt about our being very plainly visible. As no
submarine activity had been reported for several
months, we came to the conclusion that she must be
an odd submarine of the mine-layer type, that had
been south, laid mines, and was now returning
home.
WE INTERCEPT THE ENEMY
We therefore decided to try to intercept her dur-
ing the night or the following morning. At 8:25,
as darkness set in and she was just getting out
of sight, we slowly started to turn round, and by
i44 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
8 .'45, when it was quite dark and she could not have
seen our lights any more, we darkened ship and
headed north at full speed to intercept her. The
stokers fired up for all they were worth, and we got
8.2 knots out of the old ship — the best she had ever
done. During the night we made slight alterations
in the appearance of the ship, so that the sub-
marine wouldn't recognize us again. German wire-
less was heard close to us during the night, and we
had great hopes of encountering her. I made a slight
alteration of course at 3 a.m. after having checked
our position, but at daybreak she was nowhere in
sight. We therefore concluded that our only chance
was that she was not going so fast as we had allowed
and we must be ahead of her. The allowance we
had given of 9 knots was the maximum we expected
a mine-layer to go, and had she been going this,
she should theoretically have been in sight. We
therefore laid off a new track for her at 7 knots, and
put her on a course for St. Kilda, a spot German
submarines frequently made for. At 5.30 a.m. we
altered course to the eastward (see plan) on a track
that a ship from America to Liverpool would be
taking. This was a bold alteration to make in more
or less daylight, but any other course, likely to in-
tercept her, would have led me to nowhere, and
this would of course have aroused suspicion. I felt
as certain as I could be that, if in sight, she would be
on the surface; taking this into consideration, and
146 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
the fact that there were no reports of any subma-
rines operating in these waters, nor had been for
some months, I decided to make the alteration. If
our new estimate was correct, we ought to intercept
her at 6:15, and sure enough at 6:15 we sighted her
on the starboard bow, now about five miles distant,
still on the surface and steering northward. She
remained in sight on the surface for some minutes,
and careful bearings were taken, which indicated
that if we both continued our courses we would
meet. She then submerged.
The question now arose as to what to do. Judging
from the previous night, she had no intention of
attacking, and from what we now saw, apparently
had no guns. The only way to get at her was to
attempt depth charges. This was rather a forlorn
hope, as it was 6 150 before we got to a position where
she might reasonably be; and it was very rough
guesswork, as, our speed being so slow, there was
no question of making a dash such as a destroyer
could have made. Anyhow, there being no signs of a
torpedo or even a periscope, the White Ensign was
hoisted and a depth charge was dropped without
any visible result.
THE QUARRY
She now knew what we were, and we had ap-
parently shot our bolt. Our present course was
at right angles to hers, and so would take us away
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER 147
from her for good and all; to alter round toward
her course would leave no doubt in her mind as
to our identity, even if she didn't connect the depth
charge with us, which was highly improbable.
Loath to leave our quarry, we altered on to her
course to the northward and proceeded at full
speed: she was running submerged, and her speed
would probably not be more than 4 or 5 knots,
so we knew we were rapidly drawing ahead. Our
hope was sooner or later to catch her on the surface
within gun range — or ram her.
It was seven o'clock in the morning when we
turned northward. During the day the appearance
of the ship was again altered, careful watch having
been kept all day to see that the submarine didn't
come up on the surface astern. The neutral appear-
ance of the ship had been removed, the funnel had
changed its colour, and we now sailed as a British
collier with no colours flying.
By 5 130 p.m. we estimated to be about ten miles
ahead of her and out of sight. We therefore turned
round and took an outward and southerly course,
in order to meet her again. At 5 150 p.m. she was
sighted nearly right ahead on the horizon, heading
toward us and apparently charging her batteries.
She remained in sight for ten minutes and then
submerged. At the moment of sighting her a defect
occurred in our main engines and we had to stop,
but we were able to go ahead again in ten minutes.
i48 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Luckily we were able to keep our head in the same
direction, so that the breakdown had no effect
beyond the thrill of having the enemy in sight and
our engines disabled at the same time.
A BAD SHOT
Forty minutes later — at 6:39 p.m. — just at the
time we estimated to be passing her, and our eyes
were searching for her periscope, a torpedo was
fired at us from the port beam at about 800 yards'
range. We continued our course, but it missed
ahead of us: a very bad shot on her part, as the
conditions were good. There was no sign of the
periscope and nothing for an attempt to ram, so
it only remained to continue our course and pray
she would come up, which she didn't.
The two of us were now steaming on opposite
courses and increasing our distance more rapidly,
so we reduced speed till 7:10 p.m., by which time
we estimated again to be out of sight, turned north
once more to her course, and proceeded at full
speed, hoping with the gathering darkness and mist
(which was setting in) to get on top of her as she
came to the surface at dusk. No signs of her were
seen, and during the night we steamed as hard as
we could to the northward, as she would still be
ahead of us. All lights were extinguished, and we
again altered the appearance of the ship, for the
third time in twenty-four hours. Our great donkey-
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER 149
boiler funnel which had been prominent before
now no longer existed; the awning stanchions like-
wise vanished, and the funnel assumed yet another
hue. At daylight the horizon was scanned, and we
thought we saw the submarine right ahead on the
horizon, but too far away for anything more to be
done, and we reluctantly turned our nose home-
ward.
It had been a long and exciting chase against
what was, as we had diagnosed, a submarine mine-
layer, which had laid her eggs off the south of
Ireland and was now returning home. She had no
guns to attack us with, and was probably in a hurry
to get back, so would not use her torpedoes except
for a golden opportunity. This we offered her,
but she missed, and there was no other way to de-
coy her. The amount of work put in by our small
crew can easily be guessed: in addition to our
full-speed trial, the guns were kept ready and
manned all the time, the funnel repainted three
different colours, while structural changes were
also made. On the way south I decided to put into
use one of our big disguises, as there was no know-
ing what description might have been taken of
us when we dropped the depth charge. We an-
chored off the coast out of sight of land during
dark hours for the purpose.
On August 22d, when the c.-in-c. was surveying
Queenstown harbour from Admiralty House before
i5o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
breakfast, he wanted to know what that big timber
ship was lying out in the roads, stacked with timber
having stump masts and a slight list. None of the
staff seemed to know, and were busy telephoning to
the Examination Steamer, when I turned up and
reported S. S. Farnborough arrived 1
Admiral Bayly was very much interested in our
chase, and I had to go through the details with him
and Admiral Bradford, who happened to be staying
at Admiralty House. I have already said that Ad-
miral Bayly was a man who knew war, and he
carried it to his house. The large billiard room,
which had afforded many pleasant hours of recrea-
tion, was converted into an operation room: the
billiard table was boarded over, and on it were
placed the large-scale charts. It was here that I had
to lay off my courses and explain my action. The
admiral was very much pleased, and thought we
had been very skilful and shown good nerve, which
the Admiralty concurred in. Although our attempt
to find the Deutschland and our chase of the sub-
marine mine-layer were unsuccessful, he felt we
might have gained some useful information.
After a few days' rest in harbour we were off to
sea again, our appetites being whetted, after a
dull three months, not only by our recent chase,
but also by the fact that in September the subma-
rine season started again and continued till the end
of the war.
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER 151
The timber-ship disguise was very nice for
recreation inside the timber, but could not be used
for long, owing to the absence of any large numbers
of such vessels at sea; and the few there were, were
generally Scandinavian.
OPEN SEASON FOR SUBMARINES
We didn't have long to wait before realizing that
the activity was in earnest again. The usual SOS
signals were received, and numerous ships reported
sightings; but very few from our favourite area.
The centre of activity seemed to be the approaches
to the English Channel, and we therefore went on
a course which pretended to take us from Cardiff
to Bilbao. On entering the Bay of Biscay, one of
our gallant allies in the shape of a French trawler
ordered us to stop and sent an officer to board us.
His English was poor and my French was worse,
but I tried to make him understand we were allies
and both out to hunt the submarines. I thought
I had convinced him; he returned to his ship and
I proceeded ahead, only to receive a further per-
emptory signal to stop instantly, which we at once
obeyed and got boarded by the same officer. I
gathered that his captain wasn't satisfied, and that
I must follow him to Brest. This didn't suit us at
all, but, as all argument seemed hopeless, I even-
tually took the officer to one of our gun houses
and showed him a 12-pounder. Pointing to his
i52 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
6-pounder I suggested we might sink him. No
further argument was necessary; in a few seconds
he was speeding his way back home, and we con-
tinued our course.
I sent a wireless message reporting the incident
to avoid any chance of confusion, should he report
us as a raider.
On returning from this cruise, we ran into a dense
fog, during which we heard gunfire; so shaping our
course for the sound, and with guns loaded, we
steamed for about an hour and came across a
Swedish steamer aboard which bombs had been
placed by a submarine, which had ordered the
Swedes to abandon ship. We were able to save the
crew, including two ladies, who were lying off
the ship in their boats. As it may be imagined, we
didn't particularly welcome passengers on board,
especially females, since we were hoping any minute
that the submarine would come up and offer to
place bombs in us. Anyhow, we couldn't leave them
in their open boats, though I felt tempted to make
use of our orders about women not being allowed
on board. Although I sent a party on board the
ship in the hopes of towing her, the master reported
she was sinking too rapidly and we presently saw
her go down.
We were fairly close to the Scilly Islands, and a
wireless signal brought out some trawlers which
relieved us of our impediment! We seemed to be
CHASING A GERMAN MINE-LAYER 153
in the thick of things now, when we suddenly were
recalled to Queenstown and, much to our disgust,
found we had to sail as soon as possible for Ber-
muda. It seemed bad luck, after several months of
cruising with only the odd chance of success (owing
to the absence of submarines), that we should have
to go thousands of miles away just when the sub-
marine warfare was in full swing again.
Apparently the papers about our coal having
been afire several months previously had trickled
through, and the Admiralty decided that we must
discharge our coal, and Bermuda and Halifax being
the two naval bases nearest to Canada, we were
ordered to discharge at Bermuda and load timber at
Quebec, and the Zylpha, which was carrying a cargo
of coal like us, was ordered to Halifax and Montreal.
The change of cargo from coal to timber was un-
doubtedly a most advantageous one, and I believe
that as far as possible decoy ships hereafter were
filled with wood or some such substance.
We, too, should have liked a wood cargo when
we first started in 191 5, but now to have to go and
fetch it, when in the throes of activity, did not
greatly appeal to us, but after-events will show it
was undoubtedly a good thing that the change of
cargo took place.
At any rate, there was no use wasting time about
it, and as soon as we got the orders we buzzed round
to get on with the job and get back again to the
154 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
danger zone. I hoped to get through with it in a
month or six weeks, and little thought that events
would arise to prevent our return to our old haunts
for several months.
Charts had to be obtained, and as much fresh
food as we could carry, which in fact was rather less
than our usual supply, as we had no refrigerators
or ice machines on board. I also applied for and
was thankful to receive a sick-berth rating — at a
later date he was replaced by a surgeon probationer.
This was the first time we had carried any medical
staff, but in view of possible sickness aboard I
thought it desirable, and he proved most useful.
CHAPTER IX
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
A Cargo of Coal — Submarine Patrol in the St.
Lawrence — The Too-thorough Inspector — Over-
Secrecy — A German Raider
We sailed for Bermuda as soon as possible, in order
to get there and back in the shortest time. The
crew, like all crews, were a little shy of changing
c.-in-c.'s, but, as luck would have it, we were now
going to serve temporarily under Adm. Sir Mon-
tague Browning, and I was able, when telling my
crew where we were going, also to tell them that
we were going under a c.-in-c. who would be as
keen as we were to get us back to the "front." And
although a change in the situation eventually
necessitated us staying away longer than antici-
pated, yet Admiral Browning did all he could to
get us to wherever there seemed most likelihood of
our being useful. When once clear of the submarine
zone, our cruising became less strenuous, as special
lookouts, etc., were removed, and we jogged along
at 7.5 knots. It was nice that we were now able to
use our wireless for receiving any general news of
the world's doings. We didn't expect to see any sub-
155
156 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
marines outside the recognized area round the
British Isles coast, and little thought that one was
speeding her way across the Atlantic Ocean at much
the same time as we were. Our lookout was chiefly
for raiders, but as it happened we never sighted a
single ship in the whole passage.
A CARGO OF COAL
We rigged our flush-deck disguise, which enabled
the men to have an open-air recreation space, and
this, in the heat, was most desirable. As many men
as liked could come out at the same time, have a
smoke, and get a breath of fresh air, the main decks
being uncomfortably crowded, especially in the
hot weather. Deck quoits and other such games
could also be played, and I instituted physical drill
to keep the men fit, as I feared having illness in our
crowded quarters. Before reaching Bermuda, we
had ceased to be the Farnborough or the Q-5, and
again became the Loderer. We did this because
the Loderer was in Lloyd's Register Book and the
Farnborough was not. On arrival at the different
ports, the name would be entered in the shipping
news of the local papers as "S.S. Loderer, Master
Gordon Campbell, arrived from overseas." It
would have been awkward to have had a name
that didn't appear in Lloyd's.
In view of the fact that we should be going into
ports where mystery ships were not even hinted at,
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 157
and we should be getting labourers, longshoremen,
etc., on board in connection with our cargo, extra
precautions had to be taken so as to make the ship
tramp-like, not only outwardly but inwardly.
Before reaching Bermuda, therefore, we dis-
mounted all the guns, unrigged all the fittings, re-
moved all the ammunition, etc., and had everything
stowed away out of sight. The wheel house, cabins,
and hen coop maintained their appearance of being
what they were supposed to be. I saw one person on
board try to walk into one of the cabin gun houses,
but as the door that he was trying happened to be
the dummy one (merely painted as such with a
handle), he didn't get in and appeared merely to
think it was locked. Personally, I spent most of the
time reading up all the mercantile procedure I
was likely to run up against in overseas ports. As
I would have to load a cargo for the first time and
therefore had to be acquainted with such terms
as demurrage, etc., I found my time was not wasted,
and I learned a lot of useful information.
In visiting ports overseas, one is always required
to produce a bill of health, and the usual procedure
was for the medical officer to come on board and
ask to see the crew. For this eventuality we had to
practise a new drill. It must be remembered that
we had nearly eighty men on board, instead of the
thirty-two we should have had as an ordinary
steamer, so we had to arrange that when the doctor
iS8 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
came to see me, I would tell him I had thirty-two
men on board (which was the truth) and all well.
When he asked to see them, I would shout to Stuart
and say, "Mr. Mate, all hands on deck." He would
go along calling the hands, and thirty-two would
muster, the remainder hiding. It would have been
very awkward if the wrong number had turned up,
but luckily we never had any trouble: the crew
could be relied on for any novel drill or deception
required of them. Our deck log was also always
ready for inspection, for ever since we started I had
only kept the log as an ordinary merchant-ship log,
and nothing was ever entered in it that would re-
veal us as a man-of-war or be of use to the enemy
in the event of loss. I personally kept a private
record of all our doings, but this was only taken
out of the safe when I was actually writing; un-
fortunately this record was destroyed on an occa-
sion when I had to order the safe to be thrown
overboard, otherwise it would have been a far more
complete record than I shall ever remember in de-
tail, as it contained, among other things, the exact
names of every ship we impersonated. Such written
orders as I had to issue or any official cautions I
might have to give were also kept in a special book
in the safe. The safe itself was hidden away in my
cabin.
We got through the formalities at Bermuda all
right and proceeded alongside to discharge all our
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 159
coal. The pilot came aboard at the outer entrance
and took us through the narrows, a process of
over an hour. How I hated pilots, especially this
one, who had friends at Cardiff and wanted to
talk about them. Cardiff was a place to which I had
never been, but on this occasion I was able to switch
one of my officers, who had been there, on to him,
while I found important work in the chart house!
Luckily we found on arrival that H.M.S. Cczsar
and Isis were in harbour, and assisted us to dis-
charge our coal, large working parties being sent
aboard from both. At this time I was wearing my
nice ginger moustache and no beard. The first
lieutenant of the Isis, who was an old shipmate of
mine, was working on board our ship, so I invited
him to my cabin without disclosing my identity.
The following day he invited me aboard the Isis
and took me to the wardroom, and I pretended to
feel a bit strange in my surroundings as the skipper
of a dirty collier might do. I finally told him who I
was, and got at once much sympathy, as he jumped
to the conclusion that I had been chucked out of
the Service and joined a tramp. His discomfort was
further increased when I went with him to his cabin
to meet his wife, whom I also knew, and I continued
to spin a yarn of how jolly hard it was for a budding
naval officer to find himself in a collier during the
Great War. Anyhow, they were good enough, for
the sake of Auld Lang Syne, to invite me to supper
160 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
at their house. This incident at least went to sug-
gest that there wasn't much to be seen on board
that was different from an ordinary collier.
Our last night at Bermuda was a strenuous one,
as we had arranged to sail at daylight and the holds
still had to be swept — a tedious performance, but
we had worked night and day all the time and so
were used to it, and we just got finished in time.
At midnight we discovered our cook was missing:
this was rather disconcerting. He had been given
leave till 10 p. m. and, being a reliable man, it never
entered my head he could have kicked over the
traces, but about 2 a.m. we got news that he was
locked up in the local prison, and I had to send an
officer over to bail him out for 4s. It was a long
trip to Hamilton, the chief town of Bermuda, where
he had been locked up, and we got him aboard in
the nick of time before sailing, but I am afraid he
didn't answer to his bail, as I couldn't delay the ship
and I couldn't do without a cook. The man, as
a matter of fact, had been drugged, and on coming
round discovered that all his money, some £10, was
missing — a lesson of what sometimes happens to
merchant seamen.
Having got rid of our cargo of coal, we sailed for
Quebec in ballast. I had never sailed in ballast
before, and was a bit anxious for our stability,
especially as we had so many extra weights on our
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC i6t
upper deck. I therefore housed the topmasts and
kept as much coal in the lower part of the bunkers
as possible. We were favoured with good weather
except for rain and fog, and all went well. When
going up the St. Lawrence we got news that the
U-53 had appeared off New York and made a great
attack on shipping. This being the first time an
armed submarine had gone so far afield, it caused
great alarm. The pilot was terrified at the thought
of their coming to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. At
Bermuda I had found it difficult enough talking to
the pilot for nearly two hours, and now I had nearly
twenty-four hours of it. For a naval officer to go on
talking on the bridge, without using any naval
terms or making any reference to the Navy — ex-
cept ones which will not cause any suspicion — was
rather an ordeal, and I am afraid I had to tell many
lies in the execution of my office, but the medical
officer here put me in rather a tight corner. Having
told him all ^bout my thirty-two men, instead of
seeing them he asked me to sign a form which had
words to this effect, " I swear by Almighty God that
I have . . . men on board and no more." This was
rather a tall order, so I told him I had another
lot of men on board who belonged to the Admiralty,
that I had brought them up from Bermuda, and no
doubt they were for the British cruiser refitting at
Montreal — 50 per cent, truth and 50 per cent.
162 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
imagination. Anyhow, he accepted it cheerfully,
and being an Admiralty collier and wartime, there
was no cause to arouse undue suspicion.
On making fast alongside at Quebec I employed
two tugs, payment for which I signed for as an
Admiralty ship, and found I got a commission on
it. I was at first aghast at the thoughts of taking
a commission, having been brought up under the
Naval Discipline Act, but I found I should cause
suspicion if I didn't, so I pocketed it. This process
also applied to bunker coal, water, etc., and the
Red Cross Fund made a nice pourboire out of our
ship.
After going through the necessary formalities
with the Customs, harbour master, and so on, I
went to the naval transport officer. He knew noth-
ing about us, but said he was delighted an Ad-
miralty ship had arrived, as he wanted to use her
for cinema purposes! I think the idea was to take a
scene of embarkation of Canadian troops arriving
aboard. I had to protest most violently before I
choked him off.
My next call was on the head of the police. I
told him exactly who I was, producing necessary
evidence of my rank. It was very necessary for me
to insure that no bombs or such-like were placed
aboard my ship, so I got him to supply plain-
clothes detectives to keep an eye aboard. And al-
though my crew were thoroughly to be trusted,
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 163
yet I knew from my own experience that it is very
difficult to pretend you have no connection with
the Navy for long periods at a time, and I therefore
arranged that if any of my men were heard saying
a word about the Navy he was to be arrested on a
charge of embezzlement or anything else he liked,
and I would bail the man out. One unfortunate
man was arrested under this head because he was
heard carrying on a harmless conversation about
dreadnoughts. But one of the detectives nearly
got it, too. I, of course, hadn't told a soul about
them, and Mr. Mate came to me one day and said
he had seen a suspicious man on several occasions
loitering about the ship, and he thought he had
better have him arrested. I had a look at the sus-
pect and told him to do nothing!
My purser, Nunn, was rather a trial to me during
this cruise, when we were in harbour. Although a
most excellent fellow both in himself and at his
job, he was one of those who liked to match his
socks with his shirt and tie— most unsuitable in our
job— and I had the greatest difficulty in making
him look his part. All of us now had beards or
moustaches, but I don't think Nunn could produce
anything better than a subaltern's. It was painful
to him to have to be and look untidy, but a good
deal of chaff did the trick.
All the loading of the timber, which was in big
baulks at Quebec, was done by longshoremen, and
164 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
the job was to keep our own men out of sight.
In order to meet this difficulty I used to send half
the "men ashore very early before anyone was about,
to stay until after dark. Of course they would go
and return in driblets, and not as one mass. The
excursions of the U-53 off New York and the large
number of ships she had sunk had caused a good
deal of alarm on the whole east coast of America
and Canada, and had shown that there was no
place safe from the submarine's activity.
SUBMARINE PATROL IN THE ST. LAWRENCE
While at Quebec I received a letter sent by hand
from the c.-in-c. at Halifax — Admiral Sir Montague
Browning — telling me that he anticipated subma-
rine operations in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and
wanting me to patrol there as long as I could. The
necessity for great secrecy was obvious, and he did
not wish us to anchor in any port unless necessary.
We were just going to sail for England when the
order was received; there were only twelve days'
provisions on board. To obtain a lot more might
arouse suspicion, as the shipping authorities knew
we were bound for England, and it had been in
the local papers. I therefore decided to sail short.
The next difficulty was to get our guns remounted
and everything ready for action before getting past
the narrows. Pilotage was compulsory, and a pilot
on board was bound to see us working on them.
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 165
Something had to be left to chance. I had an ex-
cellent navigator, Lieutenant Hereford, R.N.R.,
who had joined me after serving with the K.R.R.
in France, and I decided to slip after dark with no
pilot. This we did, but after a couple of hours I
began to regret it, for it came on to rain in torrents,
and as the channel was very narrow and tricky,
and we couldn't see the light-buoys, there was noth-
ing for it but to anchor, and a more miserable
night I have seldom spent. We found ourselves very
close to a bluff, and had we swung round we should
have hit the rocks. We got under way before day-
light, but had to anchor again for dense fog, during
which time we made everything ready for action
and did a bit of drill to get our hands in. The fog
was after all rather a piece of good fortune for us.
I explained to my crew what was on, and that if
necessary we should continue our patrol till we
burned all our twenty-three days' supply of coal.
(We had, of course, no cargo of coal to fall back
on, all the holds being full to the hatches with our
timber.) This would mean going on half rations,
as we had food for only twelve days on board,
but the idea of decoying a submarine in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence aroused so much enthusiasm and
seemed to tickle the crew so much that any other
consideration, such as full rations, didn't matter.
The officers and men shared alike, and all our
mouths watered at the thoughts of either steak or
1 66 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
fish for breakfast. Unfortunately the submarine
never came, so we cruised between Cape Race and
Father Point for twenty-three days without an
alarm of any sort. It was bitterly cold, and we had
fog or snow every day. I have already mentioned
that we had no heating apparatus aboard, and it
was a very long three weeks; the nights were long,
but we always found some work to do after dark —
not that it was always necessary — but it was a good
thing to have something to do. The navigational
part of the patrol kept me fairly occupied, as it is
not a nice part of the world to navigate in. Even-
tually we arrived at Halifax with less than a day's
coal on board, no provisions, and the engine only
just going round, as we were long overdue for our
refit and our bearings were in a bad way. Our trip
from the- Gulf to Halifax was both exciting and
alarming, as we ran into a very dense fog and it
seemed rather a toss-up as to whether we should
go aground or run out of coal and provisions.
To reduce the chance of the latter I didn't stop,
although none too sure at times of our position.
It was a mercy to us all when we made the harbour.
I was more proud than ever of my crew, for al-
though we had had a pretty hard time, as things
go nowadays, they remained cheerful throughout,
and each day had the same humorous frame of mind
at the thought of the enemy running up against
a mystery ship in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 167
Secrecy had been so much maintained that on
arrival at Halifax we were anchored at the outmost
limits, no special orders having been received
about' us; and in due course a picket boat from
H.M.S. 'Niobe came alongside to say the captain
of the dockyard wished to see the master. Donning
my bowler hat and red tie to meet this big naval
man, I got down into the boat and asked the blue-
jacket in the stern if smoking was allowed in the
Navy boats (knowing perfectly well it isn't, or
wasn't). "Certainly," he said, and sitting down
beside me he took off his cap and offered me a wood-
bine. Having lit my pipe and he his fag, he pro-
ceeded to tell me exactly what he thought about
the Navy in general and naval officers in particular.
On nearing the Niobe he gave me a nudge, and said,
"'Ere, skipper, knock your pipe out." I said,
"Why?" He replied, "Well, I expect that —
commander is looking through his scuttle^ and if
he sees us smoking that means 10A forme."
Having made ourselves known to the dockyard,
we speedily got everything done for us in the way
of a good billet up harbour, replenishing stores and
getting some repairs done. We found that one
slip-up had been made in the secrecy— probably
as usual through over-secrecy. Our letters had been
redirected from England, some to S.S. Loderer as
they should have been, some to S.S. Farnborough,
and some to H.M.S. Q-5 ! There was only one thing
168 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
to be done, and that was to let the people who had
handled the letters into our secret and ask them to
keep it. It was found that the main shaft bearings
were in a bad way, and required fairly large repairs,
but we had orders to go to Bermuda again, and
were anxious to get on without waiting for repairs;
so, after a few days' rest an.d temporary repairs, we
set course for Bermuda again, though we had to stop
every day for an hour to give the chief a chance with
his engines; the hoses were also kept running on
the bearings all the time to reduce the heat.
While we were at Halifax, the engineer-captain
of the yard, who, of course, had to know all about
us, kindly invited me to dinner at his house. There
was also there a post-captain in command of the
armed liner that had recently brought over the new
governor-general of Canada. I acted my part as
master, and he never bowled it out, till after dinner
I told him who I was. He was one of those who knew
of the term "mystery ship," but not '•Q-ship." He
told me how, before having left England, he had
been told officially that two Q-ships had been sent
to Halifax, and he would probably meet them. He
thought "Q" must be some wonderful new fast
destroyer or something forthe Canadian Navy, and
on approaching Halifax at 20 odd knots he told
the governor-general he was expecting to meet two
very fast Q-ships who would escort them in !
A rather unusual thing happened on our passage
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 169
from Halifax to Bermuda, and that was the arrival
of an owl, which flew on board, although we were
over a hundred miles from the land. It unfortu-
nately did not live to see land again, and we were
unable to keep it till we got to harbour to have it
stuffed as a mascot — or to replace the parrot.
THE TOO-THOROUGH INSPECTOR
On arrival at the Outer Roads of Bermuda we
were boarded by a very zealous officer. Thinking
that on this occasion he knew of
our arrival, I said, "Special serv-
ice for Admiralty." Not accept-
ing this, he boarded and asked,
"What cargo?" I replied, "Coal,"
and of course one lie led to an-
other. Where from? Obviously
Cardiff. How many days out?
Obviously thirteen. On further
demand I produced my old bill of
lading for 5,071 tons of coal, my
faked sailing orders which I al-
ways carried about with me
from place to place, reported
nothing of interest on voyage
out, etc., etc. Luckily I had a calendar in front
of me when he asked what day we had sailed,
and was able to work back thirteen days. He
then asked if I had an English newspaper of that
"he destroyed it
a couple of days
AGO"
i7o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
day, as it was one day later than theirs. We,
of course, hadn't had an English paper for two
months, but I shouted for a man on the bridge and
said, "Nip down to the purser and see if he has that
Daily Mail the pilot gave us when we left Cardiff."
Back came the man quite solemn and said, "The
purser is sorry ; he destroyed it a couple of days ago."
After all my information had been duly noted,
we were allowed to proceed, and the net result was
we were berthed in the basin : the naval store officer,
an old friend, at once came on board to arrange for
our discharge of "5,071 tons of coal." I explained
I hadn't got so much as a lump and wanted
some bunkers.
The following day I went to report to our tem-
porary c.-in-c. I went in my ordinary get-up, and
I think he was a little taken aback at a naval
commander with a moustache in plain clothes.
I had been advised not to attempt to play the fool
with the admiral, but I explained I had no intention
of doing anything except play the part of a collier
master, who had little, if any, respect for distin-
guished naval officers, and so when the admiral
arrived I remained standing easy and just touched
one finger toward my cap. He asked me in a some-
what severe voice if I was "Commander Camp-
bell"; but I gave no answer except to say I was
master of the collier Loderer, until he put the direct
question, "Are you Commander Campbell as well
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 171
as master of S.S. Loderer?" As I already knew, he
was keenly interested in the whole job, and did
everything within his power not only to make me
personally comfortable, but the whole lot of us,
and gave us the pleasure of coming on board to see
the ship and see how he could help us. He invited
me to stay at Admiralty House, which was a most
enjoyable change, but the secrecy part of it was
somewhat difficult. It was rather unusual for an
admiral to have the skipper of a dirty old tramp to
stay with him, and our conversation in the presence
of the servants was either strained or non-existent.
We soon got dry-docked and had a rapid overhaul
■ — sufficient to take us back to England. It was while
we were in dry dock that we were able to see the
damage done to our bilge-heel by the U-68; it was
not of a serious nature.
There were several other tramps in harbour,
and on going ashore one day to obtain water from
the master attendant — a lieutenant R.N. who
didn't know me from Adam — I was told to wait in
the waiting room. I found there some half-dozen
other tramp captains, and we smoked cheap cigars.
As long as the conversation was confined to abuse of
the Admiralty, I was able to take part with a light
heart, feeling it was in the execution of my duty.
I was rather amused at being able to join in a whole-
hearted abuse of the inability of the powers that
be to run merchant ships, and especially of the
i72 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
disgraceful way the latter were sent to sea with only
6-pounders. When I pointed to my ship without a
gun at all, all mine being stowed away and in any
case invisible, the limits of stupidity appeared to
have been reached, and I came in for much sympa-
thy and advice as to what I should say to the powers.
The conversation now drifted to people in Cardiff
and I began to feel in deep water. As already men-
tioned, I had never been there, except in imagina-
tion, which didn't extend to an acquaintance with
Mr. This and That. I had no one this time to get
me out of it, and therefore made an excuse and got
up to leave. After exchanging greetings I was just
leaving the door when someone said, "What is
your company again, Skipper?" "The good old
M.O.B.C.," I replied, and vanished.
Our stay at Bermuda was no longer than it had
to be, as we were anxious to get back to the zone.
The Gulf of St. Lawrence was now more or less
closed for the winter, and another mystery ship
was in the West Indies, so we were no longer
required on the station, especially as no further
submarines had appeared since the U-53.
OVER-SECRECY
Just as we were leaving, our black cat was re-
ported missing, and although I have always heard
that sailors are superstitious, I had no idea how
serious a matter it was. The whole docks had to be
searched, but luckily after a search the animal was
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 173
duly recovered and rejoined before sailing. Instead
of going straight to England, we were ordered to go
to Sydney, Cape Breton, as there was a possibility
of us being required to take some cargo home, and
on arrival there we got further orders for a place
in Newfoundland to load 600 tons of dried fish.
We had another example here of over-secrecy. An
officer had been sent up from Halifax to bring
the order about the fish and to render us any as-
sistance we required. I asked him what arrange-
ments he had made with the agents and who they
were; he said he hadn't done anything at all, as
he thought it was only part of the joke! As the
place we were supposed to go to was reported ice-
bound, I decided not to attempt it! We were not
sorry, as our holds were full, and I was not keen on
an additional cargo in the winter months.
A GERMAN RAIDER
Final approval to return to England had now
been received, and we were about to sail when
telegrams arrived from the Admiralty and c.-in-c.
not to sail till further orders. This was followed by
one about the Moewe, the famous German raider,
being at sea again and in the Atlantic, and in con-
sequence all shipping likely to be affected was to
remain in port.
I happened to have a rough plan of the Moewe,
which showed her fitted with 6-inch guns: we had
i74 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
only i2-pounders. The odds in gun power, there-
fore, would be against us; on the other hand, if we
met her, we would both be disguised merchant
ships— she a raider, we a decoy. And should we
get a broadside in first at close range, we would,
even if we didn't sink her, so disable her as to render
her career a short one, if not a total eclipse, before
she got back home. It appeared to me one of those
cases where, although the highest authority may
not be justified in risking a weaker force in the
presence of a superior one, no objection could be
made to the weaker force taking its own chances,
especially in the case of a comparatively unimpor-
tant unit, as we were. At any rate, I decided to sail.
I got the crew together and told them my inten-
tions of sailing with the hopes of intercepting the
Moewe and explained what the odds were. The
necessary telegrams were sent saying we had sailed,
the wireless room closed down for reception, and
we proceeded.
When darkness arrived, we anchored off the coast
and converted ourselves into a neutral ship which
happened to be leaving New York at the same time,
bound for Manchester. Our information of the
Moewe s movements was vague, and we could
only aim at the most hopeful course. We had no
luck, but we had much amusement at the thought
of a mystery ship meeting a mystery ship. The
fact that we should probably get the worst of it
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 175
never seemed to worry anyone — it was a sporting
chance, for if we got the first broadside in we might
knock out her 6-inch guns.
We arrived back at Queenstown, after three
months' absence, toward the end of December.
I thought all hands would be pleased to be home,
and was surprised to see my old chief petty officer
coming to me with a very serious face, and feared
something must be wrong, but was relieved to
find that his only anxiety was that I might get into
trouble for having left Sydney against orders. I was
far more interested, as a matter of sentiment, to
see whether the ship we had represented reached
her destination of Manchester all right, and sure
enough she arrived the day after us. On arrival
in home waters we ceased to be S.S. Lodeur, and
again became H.M.S. Q-5.
It was Christmas Eve the day we arrived so we
were in time to spend a busy but pleasant Christ-
mas Day in harbour. The submarines had been
active during our absence, and there were rumours
of further intensified submarine warfare. There was
no time to be wasted, and as we were in bad need of
a "refit" I requested to go to Plymouth for this pur-
pose and also to give leave. Approval having been
readily given, we sailed at once, but not before
Admiral Bayly had been on board and presented
to the men the Distinguished Service Medals they
had been awarded in our previous actions.
CHAPTER X
TORPEDOED
Back to the Old Hunting Ground — An Explosion —
A Slight Misunderstanding — The Anxious Q-$ —
"Torpedo Hit"— Flooded out— Sticking It— Sinking
by the Stern— The Ship's Cat— Reported Lost— At-
tempted Salvage — "Mystery V. C."
January, 1917, was spent at Plymouth in refitting,
giving leave, and getting ready for the next round.
The opportunity was taken of studying all that had
happened in the submarine warfare during our
absence abroad, and I came to the conclusion that
the only way for us to insure decoying the enemy
to the surface was deliberately to get torpedoed and
trust to still being in a position to fight with our
guns afterward. On the two previous occasions
when torpedoes had been fired at us, we had merely
taken our chance, but now I decided we must insure
getting hit. If a torpedo missed just ahead, as has
been related already, it would have hit the ship
provided we had been going a bit faster; the idea
now was that the ship would be manoeuvred so as
to make the torpedo hit.
I explained my intentions to my crew and called
176
TORPEDOED 177
for volunteers to remain, giving any man who
wished to leave the ship an opportunity to do so;
but they all remained.
It was rather a strange coincidence that, previous
to this, two men of different ratings had been show-
ing signs of nervousness, and, on being questioned,
they both stated that their wives were trying to
persuade them to get out of it, as they (the wives)
had dreamed that something dreadful was going to
happen to the ship. In one case I was not too sorry
for the excuse to get rid of the man, as, although
a good fellow, he was not very skilled at his trade;
but the other was excellent and obviously didn't
want to leave. As his wife had only dreamed that
the ship was coming to grief, and that he himself
would be all right, it was suggested that he should
square his wife by saying how lucky he was at being
sure he would be all right, as no one else on board
could say the same. He sailed.
During our refit it became known that the Ger-
man intensified submarine warfare was due to start
on February ist.This meant that all ships were liable
to be sunk without warning if found approaching
the British Isles, so we cut down our refit as much
as possible and got away back to Queenstown be-
fore the end of the month. We sailed again on the
last day of January, and had instructions to return
after ten days, as this was considered the suitable
length for mystery ships to be at sea at a time,
1 78 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
owing to their limited capacity for carrying fresh
food and to the rather strenuous time the crew had
when out. I protested without avail that we should
like to remain out till we burned our coal — twenty-
two to twenty-three days. I knew my crew, and
having had them, for the most part, with me a
year, I knew also that fresh food, etc., didn't worry
them so much as getting a submarine.
BACK TO THE OLD HUNTING GROUND
We proceeded at once to our old hunting ground
off the southwest of Ireland. This was where most
of the traffic passed between America and England;
where, too, since the water was deep and the
weather atrocious at times, the submarine was
fairly free from the menace of mines or the molesta-
tion of auxiliary patrol craft. We intended working
continually in this area, and some disguise in the
appearance of the ship had to be made each night.
This was particularly necessary, as the sinkings and
attacks became increasingly numerous, showing
that the submarines were unusually active, and one
could not expect that by this time of the war they
didn't know a good deal about mystery ships, and
any chance of getting one would not be missed.
We arranged our procedure so that every night
we were steaming to the westward during the dark
hours when the submarine would probably be
busy recharging batteries or getting fresh air. In
TORPEDOED 179
the daytime we were steaming east, as if homeward
bound from America or Canada with a good fat
cargo.
Daily we had reports of some ship being attacked
or sunk, sometimes ten or fifteen miles away from
us, sometimes anything up to a hundred. It seemed
to be only a mathematical problem of odds as to
when our turn to get torpedoed would come. The
whole crew were waiting for it with enthusiasm.
There is a good deal of difference between being in a
ship where you know that if a torpedo is seen ap-
proaching, you are going to avoid it, and in being
in one where you know you are going to make it
hit; and yet I never saw a crew more anxious for a
fray. They realized that if the Germans' intensified
submarine warfare was a success, then England
would be beaten. We were losing some 600,000 tons
of shipping of all nationalities a month, and this of
course could not go on forever. And as there was
nothing to stop the submarine coming out, it was
up to the auxiliary patrols and the side-show parties,
like ourselves, to spare no effort and to risk every-
thing in an attempt to grapple with the one weapon
which could and nearly did bring England to her
knees. So it was that, when our ten days were up
and we were due to return, I decided to remain out.
Three times we were ordered to return, three times
I evaded. I felt we were in touch with the enemy,
and there are few orders which justify one in losing
180 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
touch. I knew my c.-in-c. would do the same if he
had been in my place. We remained out till our
chance came after seventeen days. I have often
heard people say we were lucky in our chance.
There is, however, such a thing as looking for an
opportunity, and my crew denied their leave, fresh
food, and all the rest of it in order not to miss the
chance if it came. If we had not had our chance we
should have stayed out till our coal was exhausted.
The seventeen days were not without incident,
apart from the attacks all around us. One day,
when approaching the southwest point of Ireland,
we sighted a submarine on the surface off our port
bow; she remained in sight a few minutes and then
dived. She had been heading toward us, and we
expected an attack. At the estimated time for the
torpedo to come, I had passed the word through
the voice pipes that a torpedo would arrive in a
couple of minutes, but none came; all we saw was a
mine which passed a few yards off the ship. Noth-
ing further was seen of the submarine, but a large
number of mines were swept up the following day
by the ever-alert mine-sweepers and trawlers. No
ships were actually struck, though there were a
number in sight at the time.
AN EXPLOSION
On February 4th we sighted a bark that had all
sail set, but appeared suspicious. On closing her
TORPEDOED 181
she appeared to be abandoned, and later, from
intercepted signals, we gathered the crew had been
picked up by one of H.M. sloops. She was a neutral
ship which had been boarded by a submarine,
and the master had been told that if he approached
within a hundred miles of the British coast he would
be sunk; as, however, he had not enough drinking
water to return to America, he had abandoned his
ship, although in perfect condition and with a cargo
of maize. It happened that we were sailing under
the same neutral colours, so I decided to take her
in tow, as I thought she would make a good decoy,
not to mention a chance of salvage money. After
dark we closed her, and I put a party on board to
furl her square sails, leaving the fore and aft set.
It was a slow job doing all this and getting her in
tow, as I couldn't afford to deplete my ship too
much, in case I got attacked. I put only Lieutenant
Stuart, R.N.R., and three men aboard to do the
job, and they, for the most part, did not know much
about sailing ships. We eventually got her in tow
about 3 a. m. on the 5th, and I left on board Lieu-
tenant Russell, R.N.R., three men, and a Maxim
gun for self-defence. Arrangements were also made
as to what to do if we got attacked. On no account
were they to use their Maxim gun, except as a last
act of self-defence— the entire action would be
fought by the Q-5. The latter event nearly came
off, as the following afternoon a ship which had
182 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
been in sight nearly all day and was about eight
to ten miles ahead suddenly blew up in a large
explosion. She was an ammunition ship, and had
been torpedoed. The flames and smoke went to a
great height. The alarm was sounded, and we
awaited an attack on ourselves; but, much to our
disgust, the periscope of a submarine was seen
close on our starboard side, though no attack
was made. It turned out afterward that the
submarine had herself been damaged by the force
of the explosion and was obliged to return back
home.
When we got to the place where the ship had
sunk, there was nothing to be seen except one small
piece of wood and a lifebelt.
Even this sight didn't deter my crew from the
intention of risking a similar fate, though the strain
was fairly severe, especially for the men in the
engine and boiler rooms, as they have the least
chance of coming out free from a hit by torpedo
or mine, and also see least or nothing of the fun.
But the engineering staff can always be relied on
to turn up trumps: they are the men who take a
ship in to action, see her through, and bring her out;
without them we should be done.
A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING
After this slight flutter of excitement we contin-
ued our tow without incident, till we got to Bere-
TORPEDOED 183
haven about 2 a.m. on the 6th. Here we were met
by a most important M.L., who, having received a
fictitious name from me, ordered us to follow him
into harbour. I would gladly have done so, but
he went over shallow water through which I
couldn't possibly follow him, especially with a ship
in tow. He returned very irate, and in his best
language, at which he was evidently a past-master,
he ordered me to obey his orders forthwith and fol-
low him. Again I was obliged to decline his lead, and
when he returned a second time I suggested he
might give me the secret signal for the night to
pass through the defence. He told me to mind
my own business 1 Pity I didn't understand English 1
etc., etc. Eventually we got past the defences, and
I hoped all was peace, but back he came to tell
me to anchor in a certain position. I replied that
I was going farther up, as I wanted urgently to see
the senior naval officer. He then wanted to know
who the something something I thought I was. I
told him Commander Gordon Campbell. No
sooner had we anchored than he came alongside
full of apologies, and over a cup of cocoa we both
agreed we had carried out our duties entirely to our
satisfaction. It was Keble Chatterton.
THE ANXIOUS QrS
Having turned our tow over to the senior naval
officer, we got away again before daylight and re-
1 84 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
turned to our old haunt. Our ten days were now
nearly up, but, as I have related, we went on.
It is difficult to explain the feelings we had and the
anxiety we felt to get at the job when ships with
valuable cargoes were being sunk almost under our
very noses. Surely our chance must come, and sure
enough, on February 17th, it arrived.
On the previous night we had heard two sub-
marines talking to each other. It was nothing very
unusual, but, for some undefinable reason, we were
particularly interested.
At 9:45 a.m. on the 17th we were on our easterly
course, homeward bound, in about longitude
u|° west, latitude 5i|° north. The sea was calm,
it was a nice fine day, and everything looked peace-
ful. Suddenly a torpedo was seen approaching
from our starboard side; it was fired at a great
range and we would have had time to avoid it, but
(as had been prearranged) we wanted to make sure
of a hit. Nothing, therefore, was done till it was
close to the ship and coming straight for the engine
room. At the last moment, when it would be too
late for the enemy to see our movement, I put the
helm over to avoid unnecessary loss of life and
brought the torpedo just abaft the engine room,
which undoubtedly saved the lives of those below,
but caught us on the bulkhead and flooded, in con-
sequence, two thirds of the ship.
TORPEDOED
"torpedo hit"
Whilst the torpedo was approaching, I sang out
to the navigator, who was in the chart house work-
ing out his morning observations, "Look out, we
are going to get it all right." He only bobbed his
head outside and said, "Aye, aye, sir; just time to
finish this sight," and back he went, quite disinter-
ested except to complete his job, which was to
have our position always accurate in case we
wanted it.
The torpedo exploded with a great crash and
knocked several of us down, including myself.
Smith, who was on watch in the engine room and
nearest to the explosion, had the worst shaking,
but he quickly recovered himself and went to his
panic-party station in charge of a boat. After
getting up, I observed a thing which I hadn't fore-
seen and I couldn't help laughing at. It will be
remembered that we had drilled for nearly every
emergency, and how I would say "Torpedo com-
ing," and then "Torpedo hit" or "Torpedo
missed." Now the torpedo had hit and I saw the
men rushing for the boats, but on looking over the
front of the bridge I saw a group of men still smok-
ing and lolling over the ship's side when they ought
to have been panicking. I shouted out to know
why the something something they weren't rush-
1 86 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
ing for the boats. The reply was, "Waiting for the
order, sir, 'Torpedo hit.'" They then joined in
the pandemonium, and while the panic party were
getting away in the boats, the submarine was seen
watching us through her periscope about 200 yards
off the ship. This will show the necessity of even
the panic being done in correct detail, and sure
enough it was. The boats were lowered in a fashion
enough to give any commander seven fits, and the
crew got in anyhow; one boat was only partially
lowered and then allowed to jam, so that a rush
was made for the next one, but two lifeboats and
a dinghy eventually shoved off with "all" the
crew, Lieutenant Hereford with my M.O.B.C. hat
getting down last. An unrehearsed incident added
to the panic, and this was through my friend the
chief steward (who was a very fat man) getting
pushed over the side with the crowd; his weight
was too much for his arm to support from the rope
and he landed with a great thud in the boat,
squashing two or three men who were already in.
While this pantomime was going on, things were
happening on board. The ship had only two bulk-
heads and the torpedo had burst the after one, so
that she was free to the water from the fore side of
the boiler room right to the stern. She rapidly be-
gan to settle by the stern — so rapidly that our
black cat, which had either been blown off the
forecastle by the explosion or had jumped over in
TORPEDOED 187
fright, swam down the ship's side and inboard over
the stern.
FLOODED OUT
The chief engineer reported that the engine room
was flooded, and I ordered him and his men to hide,
which they did by crawling on the top gratings;
the ship being abandoned, they couldn't come out
"don't talk so loud; he'll hear you"
on deck — again an unrehearsed incident, but Love-
less and all of them knew the game we were out to
play.
As soon as the boats were away, the submarine
went close to them only a few yards off; she was
obviously going to leave nothing to chance, and it
was as well that the crew were carefully dressed to
their part with no service flannels. One of the crew
in the boats was heard telling another, as the peri-
scope was looking at them, "Don't talk so loud;
he'll hear you!"
The submarine now came and inspected the ship
at very close range, some ten or fifteen yards — so
close that from my lookout at the starboard end of
the bridge I could see the whole of her hull under
188 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
water. The temptation to open fire on the periscope
was very great, though obviously not the thing
to do, as it would have done no harm. But it
looked at the time as if, after getting deliberately
torpedoed, we were going to have nothing to show
for it since he appeared to be moving off.
STICKING IT
The chief had reported the ship sinking by the
stern; still, there was nothing for it but to wait and
watch the submarine move slowly past the ship and
away ahead. All this time the men on board were
lying hidden, feeling the ship getting deeper by
the stern — in fact, the men at the after-gun were
practically awash — but they all stuck it and never
moved a muscle. Each one had a responsibility.
Had one man got in a real panic and showed him-
self, the game would have been up; the scrutiny of
the submarine was indeed a severe one. The wireless
operator, locked up in his cabin by himself, had
to sit still and do nothing; he must have been ach-
ing to send out an S O S and have his picture in
the illustrated papers next day as "the man who
sent out the SOS," but he knew we wanted no one
to interfere with our cold-blooded encounter with
the enemy.
After the submarine had passed up the starboard
side, she crossed our bow and went over toward
port; the signalman and I, therefore, did our belly
TORPEDOED 189
crawl and swopped places. At 10:05 a.m. the enemy
broke surface about 300 yards on our port bow, but
not in the bearing of any of the guns. Anyhow,
things were looking more hopeful, and I was able
to tell the men that all was going well. The boats
had by this time got to our port quarter, and
toward them the submarine now proceeded. We
heard afterward that their intention had been to
take the "master" prisoner and also get some pro-
visions. It was only a matter of waiting now, as the
submarine was right up with conning tower open. It
was obvious that she would pass very close to [the
ship, and we might just as well have all guns bearing,
so as to make sure of it. As she came abreast of
the ship the captain was seen coming out of the
conning tower. At this moment I gave the order to
open fire — at 10:10 — twenty-five minutes after we
had been torpedoed. The White Ensign fluttered
at the masthead, and three 12-pounders, a 6-
pounder, the Maxim guns, and rifles all opened fire
together. What a shock it must have been for the
captain suddenly to see our wheel house collapse,
our sides fall down, and the hen coop to splutter
forth Maxim shots! But he had not long to think,
as the first shot, which was from the 6-pounder,
hit him, and I believe the first intimation the sub-
marine crew had that anything was wrong was see-
ing their captain drop through the conning tower.
The range was only about 100 yards, so the
i9o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
submarine never had a chance of escape. It seemed
almost brutal to fire at such close range, but we had
taken a sporting chance ourselves in decoying her
to such an ideal position that one really had no
other thought than destruction.
The submarine never seemed to recover from her
surprise as she lay on the surface upon our beam,
while we pumped lead and steel into her. Forty-
five shells were fired in all, practically every one
being a hit, so that she finally sank with the conning
tower shattered and open, the crew pouring out
as hard as they could. About eight men were seen
in the water, which was bitterly cold and thick with
oil. I ordered the boats to their assistance, and
they were just in time to rescue one officer and
one man— a ''sample of each" as the panic party
called them. Thus ended the U-83. That night we
heard her pal calling her up on the wireless and
receiving no reply.
I received the prisoners on the bridge, having
slipped on a decent uniform monkey jacket and
cap, which I always kept handy for the purpose.
As the service expression goes, they had "no com-
plaints," and I regret that after being transferred
to a destroyer, one of the prisoners died and was
buried at sea.
Our main object of destroying the enemy having
been achieved, the next important consideration
was the ship itself. As soon as the submarine had
TORPEDOED 191
come to the surface, I had sent out a wireless to our
c.-in-c. informing him that we had been torpedoed,
and now further signals were sent for assistance.
SINKING BY THE STERN
The panic party came back to the ship, while a
rapid survey was being made. The engine room
and boiler rooms were both full of water; and Nos.
3 and 4 holds, the two after ones, were rapidly
filling. I didn't appreciate at that time what stabil-
ity the cargo of wood would give us, and it appeared
that in a very short time the ship would sink by
the stern, as she was surely and slowly settling
down. I therefore mustered my crew and called
for twelve volunteers to stand by the ship, the
remainder to get out of harm's way in the boats.
Everyone volunteered to stay, so I selected twelve.
It never struck me at the time that with myself the
number was now thirteen; anyhow, the sequel will
show that thirteen is after all a lucky number.
By eleven o'clock there were still no signs of any
rescue ships, though I knew without being told
that our c.-in-c. would send everything available.
The ship was settling still more, and I gave orders
for all confidential matter to be destroyed, as we
could not afford to run the risk that any of it might
float about if the ship sank and be picked up by
the enemy. This especially referred to secret charts
we had on board, which had to be burned. The
192 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
steel chest with our codes, etc., was therefore
ditched; but before doing so we sent in code a
farewell message to our commander-in-chief: "Q-5
slowly sinking respectfully wishes you good-bye."
H.M.S. Narwhal, 3. destroyer, arriving about
noon, I sent the major part of my crew on board
her and myself went over to see what could be done
in the way of towing. H.M.S. Buttercup arrived
shortly afterward, and I arranged for her to take us
in tow. With the twelve men I had, we got the ship
in tow, thanks chiefly to the good seamanship of
the Buttercup.
The Q-5 herself had now ceased to get any deeper
in the water, and had assumed a more or less defi-
nite position; presumably because as much water as
possible had got into the ship and she was only now
gradually getting water-logged.
No sooner were we in tow than the cable parted,
owing to our helm being jammed hard over and
immovable. Luckily, our donkey boiler, or auxili-
ary boiler, was high up in the ship, and we were
able to raise steam in this, which gave power to
steer and assistance in working the cable. We even-
tually got in tow about 5 p.m., the raising of steam
and the necessary connections to the steering
gear taking some time. The ship towed fairly well,
but of course the movement ahead increased the
strain, and with the swell breaking on board the
TORPEDOED 193
stern gradually got deeper — in fact, the after gun-
house was sometimes under water.
H.M.S. Laburnum had in the meantime arrived
and acted as escort, while the Narwhal returned to
harbour with my main crew and the prisoners. At
about 2 o'clock on the following morning the ship
suddenly started to heel over, and the water gained
to such an extent as to put the donkey boiler out,
which once more deprived us of our rudder; luckily
we were able to heave it amidships before the last
drop of steam vanished.
THE SHIP'S CAT
The chief and I made a tour of the ship to try to
find the cause of this inrush of water. It was pitch
dark, and we had only candles which kept on go-
ing out, but we were able to grovel into the bunkers.
We found that the coal had been washed out of the
starboard bunkers and replaced by water, which
was gradually rising. While we were down below
the ship gave another lurch and we thought we
would be trapped; and to add to the uncanniness
of the situation, our candle having gone out, we
heard the cat somewhere near us meowing, and,
despite the somewhat critical situation, we spent
quite a time groping about trying to find it, but
without success. The humour of the situation did
not strike me then, but has often done so since.
i94 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Here was a ship in a sinking condition and two of
her senior officers groping about in the dark in
bunker spaces trying to find a cat. I think it must
have been recollections of the unhappiness caused
by its disappearance at Bermuda which made us
do it and its success in getting back to the ship after
being torpedoed.
At 3 130 a.m. I ordered my remaining crew into
the boat, which we had kept alongside, and told the
Laburnum we were coming over. I was doing a
last walk round to see that everyone was out of it,
when one of the depth charges exploded on its
own account, just as I was approaching the after-
part. It was right in the stern which at that time
was under water, and what caused it to go off will,
of course, never be known. Anyhow, I didn't waste
much time thinking about it, as at the moment I
was the only person on board, and knowing that a
magazine was just below it, it didn't take me many
seconds to get with the others in the boat. I said
I was alone, but I found afterward I wasn't, as
Stuart hadn't obeyed the order to get into the boat,
for he thought it part of his job to see I was all
right. Like the rest of them, he used to spoil me
looking after my comfort and welfare.
REPORTED LOST
Having got into the motor boat we shoved off,
but, of course, it wouldn't run, so we drifted about
TORPEDOED 195
till we were picked up by the Laburnum. None of
us, of course, had any lights showing. The Buttercup,
having heard the explosion of the depth charge,
thought the ship had been torpedoed again, and
without more ado or looking for survivors quietly
slipped the tow and returned to harbour, reporting
that we had been torpedoed again and probably
all lost.
It was true that the depth charge had donefurther
damage, but when daylight came the ship was still
afloat, more or less a derelict. A party of six of us
went over, and the Laburnum got us in tow again.
Having got the ship in tow, we returned to the
Laburnum, as there was nothing of use to be done
on board and it was unnecessarily risking life to
remain there. During the day I received orders
to sink the old ship, for the c.-in-c. thought she
would become a water-logged derelict and a danger
to others. Since she was still safely in tow, and
there was a reasonable chance of beaching her, I
reported accordingly and towing continued. To-
ward evening we were approaching Berehaven
and I went over again with a few men. The ship
at this time was heeling over 200, and the stern was
eight feet under water. As we got toward the har-
bour a mine was sighted on the surface, and I re-
marked that it would be bad luck to be done in by
a mine now. My old pensioner, Truscott, who was
always at hand, especially if there was any sea-
196 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
manship required, said, "Don't you worry, sir;
not fifty mines could sink us now." It was typical
of the spirit of the men.
As we got to the entrance, the King's harbour
master, Commander Sharpe, came on board and
told us the best place to beach her; the Laburnum
slipped the tow, the trawler Luneda and the tug
Flying Sportsman came alongside, and, aided by
them, we pushed the old Loderer, alias the Farn-
borougk, alias the Q-5, on the beach at 9:30 p.m.
As I reported at the time, I think our safe arrival
in harbour was chiefly due to the good seamanship
displayed by Lieutenant-Commander Hallwright in
the Laburnum, for it was no easy job getting the ship
in tow with such conditions. It was done chiefly by
the very skilful handling of his ship. In a very short
space of time the few men I had on board had done
their full share, and I smiled to think that had we
been a full-fledged man-of-war we should have
had some fifty men on the forecastle instead of
five.
We had already received a wireless from our
c.-in-c. after the action, saying, "Splendidly done;
your magnificent perseverance and ability are well
rewarded," and now we got another message:
"Very good piece of work. Well done." Such mes-
sages mean a lot at any time. They were all the more
appreciated since we were under a man who is not
given to wasting words.
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TORPEDOED
197
ATTEMPTED SALVAGE
After the ship had been beached we had a "night
in" — such as it was, because we found that though
at low tide the ship was fairly dry of water and we
could raise steam in our donkey boiler again, yet
at high tide the ship was under water up to the
bridge and we had about 400 list. All our provisions
and luxuries had, of course, gone, and living on
board ship with a 400 list is no pleasant job, but I
suppose we were imbued with the Army tradition
of "saving the guns," and we decided to try to salve
the lot. Admiral Bayly had kindly sent his flagship,
under Captain Hyde (now Rear-Admiral Hyde,
R.A.N.), to give us assistance and comfort. Being
pig-headed we refused the comfort but were glad
of the assistance, especially of his warrant officers,
such as the gunner and shipwright — possibly a
foolish decision on my part, because it was unneces-
sarily hard going for the thirteen of us on board,
although there was a humorous side to the affair.
As the tide fell, the chief would raise steam in the
donkey boiler and we would get steam on the wind-
lass and derricks; then as the tide rose, he would
damp his fires, and, instead of our being able to
work on salvage, we were by the increasing list of
the ship unable to do anything except await the
turn of tide, or in the meantime start the gramo-
phone and enjoy life on a deck sloping at 400. While
i98 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
we were doing all this, much to our surprise Admiral
Bayly made a special visit to Berehaven in H.M.S.
Penelope to see the ship; he had us all aboard his
temporary flagship to say a few words, which we all
much appreciated.
After a week's hard work, we left the old ship
on the beach, all the guns being salved and every-
thing else that could be. She was eventually salved,
and not only sailed again during the war as an or-
dinary tramp steamer, but was still running till
May, 1928, under various names and owners, her
last name being the Hollypark. Since the war she
has frequently been to a great friendly nation's
ports, and I have seen from time to time notices
of her career in various papers; the last I saw
credited her with twenty-two submarines, the
correct number being the two without the twenty.
The old ship has now been sold to the ship breakers;
and I have not only been able to obtain and present
the ship's binnacle to my old school Dulwich Col-
lege, but have myself received a gift of the ship's
bell, both due to the kindness of Old Alleynians.
After the war the Admiralty presented the ship
with a tablet recalling her war services, the pres-
entation being made in the presence of the then
First Sea Lord (Admiral of the Fleet Lord Wester
Wemyss) by Admiral Sir A. L. Duff, G.C.B., etc.
After leaving the old ship, I proceeded to Queens-
TORPEDOED 199
town to report, and then with the remnants of my
crew to the barracks to Devonport. I found it
extremely difficult to word my official report with-
out overstating the case; but having seen the whole
action, I was filled with the greatest pride in the
conduct of all my crew. It is seldom one can say
that anything is 100 per cent., yet in this case the
success was not due to any one individual, but to
each one individually. The strain on those who re-
mained^concealed after the old ship had been torpe-
doed, and might for all we knew sink at any minute,
can very easily be imagined. I reported that I
thought they might almost be said to have passed
through the supreme test of discipline, and on look-
ing back I don't think I overstated the case.
On arrival at Plymouth I was ordered to read to
the whole crew a telegram from the Admiralty
conveying their "keen appreciation of the skill,
nerve, and gallantry they recently displayed" and
awarding the ship £1,000 as before.
"mystery v. c."
I had the honour of being received by H.M. the
King a few days later, when he informed me that he
had awarded me the Victoria Cross, my first lieu-
tenant and chief the Distinguished Service Order,
as well as decorations to other officers and men.
In fact, His Majesty wished every man who had
200
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
remained on board after the ship was torpedoed
to receive some recognition. I was glad to have the
opportunity to say that the success was not due to
me more than anyone else. The success could be
attributed to each officer and man; had one failed
or done the wrong thing, the action would have
been a failure.
Unfortunately — for me — the award of the Vic-
toria Cross appeared in the Court Circular without
having been announced in the Gazette; and this un-
usual procedure was picked up by the press, so that
I have been saddled ever since with the title of
"Mystery V.C."
There was no mystery really, yet it was obviously
difficult to allow it to leak out that it had any con-
nection with mystery ships, as it might have not
only endangered our lives unnecessarily, but, what
was of far more importance, reduced the chance of
doing the same again.
The notice in the Gazette appeared shortly after-
ward and gave nothing away. It' stated the V.C.
had been awarded for "conspicuous gallantry,
consummate coolness, and skill in command of one
of H.M. ships in action."
List of Awards After Sinking U-83
Victoria Cross
Commander Gordon Campbell, D.S.O., R.N.
TORPEDOED
201
Distinguished Service Order
Lieutenant Ronald Neil Stuart, R.N.R.
Engineer-Lieutenant Leonard S. Loveless, D.S.C.,
R.N.R.
Distinguished Service Cross
Acting-Lieutenant Francis R. Hereford, R.N.R.
Sub-Lieutenant Richard P. Nisbet, R.N.R.
Assistant Paymaster Reginald A. Nunn, R.N.R.
Distinguished Service Medal
Petty Officer Francis J. Horwill.
Stoker Petty Officer Samuel J. Pollard.
Leading Seaman Herbert L. Day, R.F.R.
Seaman Benjamin Samms, R.N.R.
Seaman Alex. S. Morrison, R.N.R.
Leading Stoker Richard E. Davidson, R.N.R.
Stoker Aaron Hopkins, R.N.R.
Wireless Telegraph Operator Thomas E. Fletcher,
R.N.R.
Seaman William Williams, R.N.R.
Bar and Distinguished Service Medal
Chief Petty Officer George Henry Truscott.
Mentioned in Dispatches
Acting-Lieutenant Frederick George Russell,
R.N.R.
Wireless Telegraphist Allan Andrews, R.N.R.
202 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Petty Officer Ernest Pitcher.
Shipwright William S. Smart.
A.B. Charles E. Hodder.
A.B. Richard W. Sheppard.
Seaman Alphonso Davies, R.N.R.
A.B. Ernest A. Veale, R.F.R.
Seaman Patrick Murphy, R.N.R.
Seaman Robert Jenkins, R.N.R.
Seaman John Stephen Martindale, R.N.R.
Seaman Martin Connors, R.N.R.
A.B. Bruce R.C. Harris.
Seaman Robert Dryden, R.N.R.
A.B. Noble Britton.
Seaman John G. Orr, R.N.R.
Signalman Charles W. Hurrell, R.N.V.R.
Seaman Frederick Dodd, R.N.R.
Seaman William H. Bennison, R.N.R.
E. R. A. Albert W. Morrison, R.N.R.
Leading Stoker Thomas Davies, R.N.R.
Stoker William O'Leary, R.N.R.
Stoker George Rees, R.N.R.
Armourers' Crew Stanley Woodison.
CHAPTER XI
NEW PREPARATIONS
S. S. "Vittoria" — Tramp — The Dummy 12-
Pounder — The Old Crew — The Secret of the Name — ■
Visit of Admiral Sims — An American Mystery Ship
After returning to Devonport the ship had to be
paid off. This would appear a strange procedure,
since everyone was already out of her and the
ship herself a wreck. But for pay purposes and
accounting of stores an official date had to be fixed
for closing accounts, etc. As far as stores were con-
cerned, we lost nearly everything, which was the
simplest way to close accounts from my point of
view, the work being chiefly done by the Naval
Store Department.
The first batch of my crew was already at the
Royal Naval Barracks, and the ones who had
remained at Berehaven with me now joined them.
The c.-in-c. had asked that they might be kept
together ready for another ship, as he considered
them the best on the station. This was approved,
and, although living at the barracks, they were
still my crew and I could get them for anything I
wanted.
203
2o4 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Having paid off, I was appointed temporarily to
the fairly new Anti-Submarine Department of the
Admiralty and employed to inspect mystery ships
that were fitting out. I always took my first lieu-
tenant and chief engineer with me for this duty,
as their expert knowledge of merchant ships was
invaluable. For instance, I would tell Stuart where
I wanted to place a gun and how I proposed to con-
ceal it, and he would be able to tell me whether my
proposal would make the ship look suspicious or
not. The chief, too, would know exactly what to
look for, and things that would pass as serviceable
in a merchant ship would not necessarily do so for
a man-of-war inspection.
Luckily for me, my face didn't fit very well in
this department, and I was able to get back to sea
again. I was nominated for three different ships,
each of which was entirely unsuited for the job or
for the area in which it was to be employed.
For instance, one ship was a railway steamer with
a slanting funnel and fitted with baggage ports.
What chance of disguising her? And she carried
one and a half days' coal, enough to take her, in
fine weather, from Queenstown into the Atlantic
Ocean for an hour or so, but not to get her back
again!
Another one was a beautiful ship, which would
carry some 8,000 tons of cargo and had a speed of
12 knots. It was not for me to say whether the
NEW PREPARATIONS 205
policy was correct in taking up a brand-new ship
like this for decoy purposes, but what I did object
to was the fact that the ship had what is called a
cruiser stern, a thing not very common at that
time, and, of course, there would have been no
way to disguise it.
Eventually I was given permission to find my
own ship, and proceeded forthwith to Cardiff with
Stuart and the chief. We knew exactly what we
wanted, namely, an ordinary tramp steamer, and
one that could be easily disguised in small' ways.
Speed was of no great importance, but we wanted
one with a donkey boiler high up, our experience
in the Q-5 having shown the advantage of this.
S.S. "VITTORIA" — TRAMP
A couple of hours in the docks and I was on the
telephone to London asking if S.S. Vittoria could
be taken up. We returned to London, and, thanks
to Mr. Walker of the Ministry of Shipping, the ship
was taken up and her loading at Cardiff suspended
in about twenty-four hours.
The ship was much the same as our last one,
an ordinary tramp steamer, this time with two
well decks and a poop. She was of about 3,000 tons
and a speed of 8 knots. She wasn't so old as the
Loderer, and although not quite so long had a more
solid appearance in every way. The ship was taken
round to Devonport to fit out, while I was seeing
2o6 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
what I could get in the way of guns to fit her out
with. She became H.M.S. Vittoria on March 28,
191 7. Guns were, as usual, scarce, but I was given a
4-inch gun and four 12-pounder guns, in addition
to Lewis guns. This was a great improvement on
our last armament, but I was not satisfied. Mer-
chant ships had changed somewhat since we fitted
out the Loderer. At that time it was comparatively
rare to see an ordinary tramp steamer with a de-
fensive gun mounted aft, but now every merchant
ship was being fitted with a defensive gun, as fast
as guns became available. I therefore wanted a
gun which would be visible, mounted aft as a de-
fensive gun. I felt sure that I would appear sus-
picious without one, and I would have been satis-
fied with a 3-pounder or anything that would fire
and make a noise, but it was turned down and other
arrangements had to be made.
In fitting out the Vittoria we, of course, had the
great advantage not only of our previous experi-
ence, but also of a new invention which had taken
place in the mounting of small guns. A mounting of
a 12-pounder had now been made, called a "tilting
mounting," which enabled the gun to fall right over
on its side, so there was less vertical height to be
concealed. One push of the gun, and it was up and
in position ready for firing.
This innovation enabled us to arrange the arma-
ment so as to have a very fine broadside of one
NEW PREPARATIONS 207
4-inch gun and three 12-pounder guns, as two of the
12-pounders were able to be mounted on the centre
line.
The 4-inch gun was mounted aft on the poop.
It was fitted in a hatch, like an ordinary cargo hatch,
the sides of which fell down. This hatch did not
conceal the whole gun, which was higher than the
coaming; we therefore had the top part covered
alternatively with a dummy boat, upside down,
such as may be seen stowed away in a ship when
at sea, or when we got tired of that it was covered
with a crate, as if part of our upper-deck cargo.
Another alternative was a spar across with a few
bits of washed clothes hanging on it. The gun was
painted dull, and, as only a comparatively small
part showed above the hatch, it did not take a
great deal to make it invisible from outboard.
One disadvantage of having this gun on the poop
was the question of getting good depression. If
we put the gun too high up, it would have been
very awkward to conceal it ; while if we put it as low
down as possible, then we had to sacrifice some
depression, which meant that we could not fire at a
submarine which was close under the stern or
quarter. This latter I accepted, as except for this
the gun had a splendid arc of fire.
Two 12-pounders were placed one each side in
houses which were built on to the existing houses.
Thanks once more to the dockyard, the cabins
208 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
were made so realistic from outside that it was liter-
ally impossible to tell they weren't real cabins. A
new and very effective arrangement was made to
drop the upper part of the cabin when required
to bring the gun into action. There were no hinges
and the upper part was kept up by a weight, which
could be released by knocking off a slip and the
whole of the top half of the cabin fell down through
guides flush with the lower half. The cabins were
fitted with portholes, a dummy door, and a hand-
rail, just at the place where the crack would have
shown between the upper and lower parts. The
other two 12-pounders, which were tilting ones,
were placed amidships in the fore and aft line of
the ship, to enable them to fire either side as desired.
One was placed on the forecastle, at the after-end of
it. The concealment of this gave us a lot of thought.
There was already a windlass on the forecastle and
a second would have looked suspicious; a reel used
for running wires on would not be long enough to
cover the gun; and eventually we covered it with a
piece of canvas which had a grass line or rope at-
tached to it, so that from an outside appearance it
looked like a big hawser.
The other 12-pounder, which tilted, we put in the
place the hen coop had been in the Loderer, in the
middle of the ship on the boat deck. There was little
difficulty in concealing this one, as the ordinary
canvas on the rails at the after-end of the boat
NEW PREPARATIONS 209
deck hid it from that point of view and the ordinary
lumber, such as lockers for scrubbers, lifebelt racks,
casks, etc., concealed it on either side.
In fitting out this ship there was more officialdom
than on the previous occasion, as the mystery ship
had become more of an established policy. I was
therefore obliged to have the guns fitted with safety
stops, so that we couldn't fire on what theoretically
was a dangerous bearing to ourselves. It was rather
waste of money, as I removed them all before going
to sea, the risk of firing into ourselves being small
compared with others we intended to take, and I
didn't want to run the risk of not being able to
fire at a submarine because of the full arc of the
guns being cramped by safety stops. One never
knew what angle one might assume after being
torpedoed.
THE DUMMY I2-POUNDER
The next consideration was our visible gun. I
felt convinced it was necessary, and, my appeals for
it being in vain, I got the dockyard to make me a
very realistic dummy 12-pounder. It was made of
wood, with a brass handle to turn it round by.
Similar to those on other ships, it was mounted
right aft and stuck well up. It of course masked
the fire of the 4-inch gun dead astern; but this had
to be accepted, as incidentally it helped in conceal-
ment of the real gun and reduced the chances of
210 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
us being suspected. It could be trained round or
elevated, in fact could do everything except fire.
We were tickled very much with our dummy gun;
it was really a beautiful model, and I had hoped to
keep it as a curio for the garden one day, but alas!
although I took it to our next ship, it finally went
to the bottom. The ensign staff, of course, had to
be fitted clear of the dummy gun and a red ensign
kept handy, as if we opened fire with our dummy,
it would have to be under the Red Ensign.
In addition to our guns we had two 14-inch
torpedoes in this ship; they were a mixed blessing,
as although occasions might arise when they would
be useful, they wanted a lot of looking after and
meant additional men and a further crowding
of the accommodation. Furthermore, they were an
old pattern, and this, together with the fact that
they would be fairly high above the sea level, would
not add to their reliability. At any rate, we had
them, and the torpedo tubes were fitted on the
mess deck; the doors in the ship's side were cut and
hinged with invisible hinges inside. These doors
could be opened and the torpedoes fired only from
the bridge, the place where the sights could best
be worked from. I had to get some of the men spe-
cially trained for looking after the torpedoes, as I
didn't want to get a single additional man that
wasn't necessary.
It will be remembered that in the Loderer the
NEW PREPARATIONS 211
depth charges had to be run along on trolleys. In
this ship we had a poop, so they were fitted in the
stern, two on each quarter, and ports were cut in
the stern and fitted with internal hinges similar to
the torpedo ports. When necessary the ports could
be dropped and the depth charge pushed out.
Our armament was now complete, but various
other general improvements had been thought of.
Extra bulkheads were built. We weren't very keen
about this big job, as it added to the time of fitting
out, but the Admiralty had decided they were
essential and, of course, they added to our stability.
The ship was now divided into five watertight
compartments instead of three.
We had an electric bell fitted over the stern which
could be rung from the bridge; this idea arose from
our action in the Q-5, as it struck me that the occa-
sion might arise when the ship would be "aban-
doned," the boats away, and the submarine
remaining submerged. The idea was that, after
waiting an hour, the bell would be rung to recall
the boats to the ship. The crew would start to come
on board again — this would probably entice the
submarine to the surface. In the case of one or two
real merchant ships this had actually happened.
The scheme was never carried out by us except in
drill. I also got a couple of trench periscopes, which
enabled me to keep a better look around from my
concealed position at the end of the bridge.
212 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
To get these trench periscopes caused more
difficulty than anything else. As I have already
said, all our transactions had to be done more
officially than previously, and, trench periscopes
being an Army store, long explanations were neces-
sary as to why a naval officer wanted them. But
Mr. Oliver, who was never defeated, eventually
got them for me. The arrangements of the messes
were much the same as before, but additional trap
hatches had to be built to get up to the 4-inch gun
and the gun on the forecastle. The crews of the
4-inch and dummy gun had a special mess built
for them inside the poop, in order that they might
always be on the spot.
THE OLD CREW
When the Q-5 had paid off, the crew had been
kept together, as already stated, and were now
available for the Vittoria; a few fell out owing
to loss of nerve after the previous action, and
I also had to take some additional members
to man my increased armament. They were all
volunteers, but the backbone was there, and
it didn't take many days to get the new ratings
up to the standard and spirit I required. Among
my crew were two hardy seamen from Newfound-
land and a lieutenant R.N.R. — Frame, a New
Zealander who had come over with the New Zea-
land Expeditionary Force and won his Military
NEW PREPARATIONS 213
Medal in Gallipoli. I already had a wireman from
Canada, and I felt we were becoming thoroughly
representative of the British Empire.
I had one very excellent man on board, who by
nature was very jumpy — the sort who jumped if
you dropped a hammer near him. I thought that
after being torpedoed once he would have had
enough of it, especially as a bit of wood that was
blown in the air had landed on his head on that
occasion and stunned him. I therefore suggested
he might prefer a quieter job, but he insisted on
coming on again — in fact, he came on to the bitter
end. I was very delighted, as he was not only an
excellent hand, but also I admired his extraor-
dinary pluck. He was never anything but perfect
at his job, although he lived in a continuous state
of being scared.
The training and drill were on the same lines as
before and there was little we could think of to
better our programme. The principal new stunt
we thought of, in addition to the electric recall
bell referred to, was what we termed "'Q' abandon
ship." It had occurred to us that a case might arise
when, after we had been torpedoed and the panic
party had done their part, the identity of our dis-
guise might be disclosed, possibly through the
torpedo having caused the guns to be unmasked
or through some other mishap. In the event of this
happening, the idea was to have a second, or as we
214
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
called it "'Q' abandon ship." For this purpose
we were to pretend that the game was up, and,
leaving the White Ensign up and our guns dis-
closed, the remainder of the men who had been
left on board were to abandon ship! The boats were
to be called back to
collect more men, any-
spare boats were to be
lowered, and we car-
ried a Carley float (or
raft) which was to be
.launched specially for
this purpose, since
they were normally
carried only by men-
of-war. This we hoped
would convince the
the crew of the dummy gun enemy that we were
really all out of it — in fact, two guns' crews only
were to remain on board, together with the neces-
sary people on the bridge and a couple of men at
the tubes.
The question of the dummy gun had to be
arranged for. Having the gun, it had to be manned;
on the other hand, it couldn't fire. I therefore had
to arrange for something that didn't quite appear
to be in accordance with naval traditions. Two men
were told off as the crew of the dummy gun and
wore bluejackets' uniform — for action. They
NEW PREPARATIONS 215
manned the gun and very gallantly pointed it
at the enemy, then disgraced themselves by aban-
doning the gun without firing a shot; and, rushing
away from it were able with the aid of the alley-
BECOME PART OF THE DECK
ways and trap hatches to take a more creditable
part in the rest of the action!
The manning of the gun at the other end of the
ship— on the forecastle— was also a difficulty, as
there was nowhere for the men to hide. Whereas
the men at the midship gun had the screen to hide
behind, it would have been unnatural for the rails
on the forecastle to be fitted with screens. They
therefore had first to assemble underneath the
forecastle and then climb through a hatch on to
it and lie prone on the deck face downward, their
216 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
arms covering their faces and, in fact, become part
of the deck. For this purpose they were specially
dressed in suitably coloured overall suits. This gun's
crew had a particularly arduous task, as they had
to lie quite rigid, being especially careful not to
show their faces. After personally taking each man
of the crew away in a boat to lie off the ship, as a
submarine might, to see for themselves, I convinced
them that any movement, especially one showing
the white of the face, could be spotted in a second.
I placed Lieutenant Nisbet, who had been with me
all along, in charge of this gun.
THE SECRET OF THE NAME
By a curious coincidence we had trouble again
about the secrecy of our name. The "Q" title
had by this time been dropped, and we just had a
name. On the ship being taken up, her name had
been changed from the Vittoria to the Snail. This
latter name became compromised while we were
fitting out, and we eventually sailed under the name
of the Pargust. Who thought of the name or what it
means I have never discovered.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, the name
has never before been borne by any man-of-war,
British, colonial, or foreign. It means nothing in
itself, as it does not appear in the dictionary. Nor
does it seem to be a river or place. To find out what
its origin is or what it means, we shall have to wait
NEW PREPARATIONS 217
till the person with the super-brain who thought of
it appears before the invention board.
The fitting out of the ship took the best part of
two months, although the dockyard was untiring
in its efforts to get us finished as fast as possible.
The bulkheads were the great delay, for until they
were finished the timber which again formed our
cargo could not be loaded. Sufficient timber was
not available in England, and we had to top some of
the holds with casks, secured so that they wouldn't
float away. Such a cargo had one disadvantage,
as even after adding ballast it didn't give us a deep
enough draught of water, and I feared we might
not appear to be carrying sufficient cargo to be
attractive. We fretted a good deal at the delay, as
the submarines were busy outside.
But in the meantime we did as much drill as
possible. On the first day of drill the crew of the
after-gun were by no means up to their usual stand-
ard, and the petty officer drilling them got very
exasperated, calling them all the names he could
think of. When the time came to pack up, they
were still not up to the mark, and his parting shot
was to tell them they were all blinkin' well non
compos mentis — at which they all laughed, includ-
ing Mr. Mate. The petty officer, feeling he might
have made a fool of himself, went to the wireless
operator and inquired what the expression meant.
"Why, it means anyone out of his mind— balmy,"
2i8 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
was the reply. "Ah," laughed the petty officer, "the
ignorant swabs! I was right: they were balmy."
We got away toward the end of May (1917), and
after a few days of drill and gun practice, which
was becoming more difficult to arrange owing to
the submarines being everywhere, we sailed for
Queenstown.
VISIT OF ADMIRAL SIMS
The United States was now in the war, and since
several of her ships were based on Queenstown,
Admiral Sims, the American admiral in command,
was a frequent visitor there; in fact, for some days
on one occasion he flew his flag there as c.-in-c.
while Admiral Bayly was away. On our arrival
he came on board with Admiral Bayly. We were
anchored in the Roads with a lot of other merchant
ships. Admiral Bayly had had no description of
us, and the two admirals, much to our amusement
and joy, steamed round our ship, examined us with
glasses, and decided we were not the mystery ship
they were looking for. They then went to nearly
every other ship in the anchorage before finally
coming to us. When on board, they had not much
difficulty in finding the 4-inch gun and the tilting
ones, as they were fairly visible to anyone walking
on deck, but the two cabins quite defeated them.
In fact, I was standing with Admiral Sims within
a foot of the bulkhead of the cabin and told him
NEW PREPARATIONS 219
there was a 12-pounder a few feet off. He thought I
was pulling his leg, till, by a prearranged wink of
my eye through the scuttle, down came the cabin
and the admiral found the muzzle of a 12-pounder
at his chest. With a loud shout of "Gee whiz" he
took a smart step to the rear.
It might appear to have been a bit risky to have
disclosed one of our guns like this in the Roads,
but the ship was swung in a direction that pre-
vented its being seen by anybody. In addition the
mystery and secrecy of merchant ships being fitted
out with guns and manned by naval crews had by
this time practically disappeared, especially in the
home ports. The title "Q" probably had some-
thing to do with this, and also the fact that there
were so many of us, including the type known as
the "Q" sloop, which looked neither like a sloop nor
a merchant ship. The officers and men now used to
go ashore in uniform. This, of course, did not apply
to non-naval ports, nor naturally when cruising at
sea, and I always preferred to go to sea in dark
hours, so as to be in all respects, as far as outward
appearance was concerned, a whole tramp and
nothing but a tramp. In fact, we continued to as-
sume this except when actually up harbour in a
naval port.
This new procedure of wearing uniform up har-
bour had many advantages when going ashore,
as one could once more mix with his friends and go
220 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
to the club, etc., but it also had its disadvantages.
I was most annoyed that I could no longer grow
my ginger moustache. On one occasion, by virtue
of my rank, I found myself president of a court-
martial. I should imagine that the prisoner, if he
had found himself confronted with a naval officer
in uniform and a moustache, would have pleaded
guilty to a charge of drunkenness on the spot! The
double life might have become very difficult, as
when in uniform the usual naval salutes had to be
given, but as soon as I donned my M.O.B.C. cap
I became a merchant skipper again, and it became
an offence to do any saluting. But we had been so
long together, and the new members of the crew
had so rapidly picked up the train from the old
ones, that no difficulty ever arose with us. In fact,
although I haven't got the exact dates, I think
that for a period just over a year I never had
occasion to have to award a single punishment.
This didn't meant they were all saints, but did
mean they knew how to play the game.
AN AMERICAN MYSTERY SHIP
Admiral Sims from this time onward always took
a great interest in mystery ships, and later in the
year the Americans fitted out a ship of their own
at Devonport, called the Santee. She was the very
last word in fitting out. I had the honour of being
invited to go over her and make comments, but it
NEW PREPARATIONS 221
was impossible to suggest any possible improve-
ments. I was particularly struck with a large peri-
scope they had, which looked like a stovepipe, but
which enabled the officer, in safety below, to have
a good all-round view. As bad luck would have it,
this very fine ship was torpedoed on her first trip
out of Queenstown, and the submarine never came
to the surface.
I happened to read Admiral Sims's book about
these things when I was at Greenwich War College,
and I found he had described me as being "phleg-
matic." Not knowing what the word meant, I in-
quired of the two captains who sat either side of
me at lunch that day what the word meant, with-
out disclosing why I wanted to know. The first
one replied "A silly ass," and the second one "A
dull sort of blighter."
SUBMARINE SHELLING AT LONG RANGE
CHAPTER XII
VICTORY AND THE VICTORIA CROSS
A Rescue— The Events of Latitude 510 501 N.,
Longitude 11° 50' W. — Miraculous Escape — Sub-
marine Breaks Surface — Successful Decoy — Four
Minutes' Action — Sample Prisoners — "High Com-
mendation"
Twenty-four hours sufficed for all that had to be
done at Queenstown, and by the last day of May we
were back to our old hunting ground. We again
intended to get deliberately torpedoed; but the
question having arisen as to what would happen if
we did so and then failed to sink the submarine, I
deemed it advisable to make it quite clear that the
responsibility would be solely mine, and I therefore
issued a written order which said, " Should the offi-
cer of the watch see a torpedo approaching the ship,
he is to increase or decrease speed as necessary to
insure it hitting." This order was duly initialled by
all officers.
We had visible evidence that the submarine men-
ace was at its height a couple of mornings after we
were at sea. We were steaming past the southwest
corner of Ireland, when as the day broke we sighted
what we at first thought was a periscope; we at
222
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 223
once got ready for action; but when we saw several
more "periscopes," we began to rub our eyes to
make sure we were awake. Conning towers also
appeared, so that we knew something was amiss.
It wasn't till we got close up in the half-light of
dawn that we found a ship had been torpedoed
and sunk, and that between twenty and thirty
men were struggling in the water among pieces of
wreckage.
A RESCUE
Some died before we could pick them up, as the
water was bitterly cold, but we were able to rescue
about twenty, two Scottish engineers and the re-
mainder lascars. One of the engineers related how
he had been saved through standing on a horse box,
and that when the submarine tried to take him
prisoner he dived into the sea, preferring to take
his chance by diving and swimming to the com-
parative comfort of a submarine. Four of the
lascars died soon after we got them on board, and
I buried them at sea.
The problem now was that I had sixteen addi-
tional men on board, fourteen of whom spoke no
English, and we might at any minute meet the sub-
marine that had done the damage; in fact, for all
we knew she might be watching us carrying out our
rescue work. Something had to be done at once, so
I sent for the two engineer officers and told them
224 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
our game and what they were to do in action. I
had a look at the lascars, who were shivering with
cold and obviously not yet recovered from the
shock they had already received. I decided, there-
fore, that no instructions were necessary, as they
would make an ideal panic party without any ex-
planations or rehearsals! American destroyers
closed us during the forenoon, and we were able to
transfer our guests. We were never keen to meet
survivors of sunken ships if anyone else was at
hand to do the job, but otherwise it had to be
done in the interests of humanity. In addition to
the fact that they were a nuisance aboard, there
was always a certain amount of risk in stopping to
transfer them, and, as in so many cases, it was a
choice of evils; we could either keep them on
board, transfer them, or return to harbour with
them. Something had to be left to chance, and I
always got rid of them as quickly as I could.
On this occasion a submarine alarm was raised
while in the process of transferring them, and the
transfer had to be postponed while the destroyer
chased around looking for periscopes. Luckily it
was a false alarm.
We continued to carry out our old programme
of steaming west each night and east each day in
the latitudes which ships generally used approach-
ing the south coast of Ireland.
We had no orders about returning to harbour
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 225
this time, and we all felt confident that we should
have another engagement before we did so. It
seemed only a matter of time since the usual re-
ports of all sorts were received, much as has been
described in my Press Bureau. We were very
much pleased with our ship, and lived in luxury
and comfort compared with the good old Farn-
borough; with the men under the poop, the ac-
commodation was not so crowded. I had a real
cabin on the bridge, whereas in the Farnborough
I had only a makeshift one, with one door, which
was always the weather one, especially up the Gulf
of St. Lawrence! The Pargust never having car-
ried coal, we got into the habit of keeping her a
bit cleaner externally than Farnborough. She was
still a tramp, but of a more respectable type. Of
course we didn't overdo it, and had the necessary
amount of rust marks and patches of red lead about
the place. Masters no longer carried wives on
board, so the lady and the baby had long since
been paid off.
Our dummy gun caused much merriment during
the cruise, since as master I was of course keen on the
gun's crew being efficient: in broad daylight the two
bluejackets would be seen religiously polishing it
and practising loading! It was not only the proper
procedure, but it was a great thing at this game,
when you were asking to be torpedoed, to keep every-
one's spirits up by any means one could think of.
226 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
On June 6th Truscott informed me we should
see a submarine to-morrow. On inquiring how he
knew, he said that a bird had flown into my cabin,
and although it had never struck me particularly
before, a similar thing had happened on each oc-
casion of engaging a submarine. Sure enough the
omen came true.
THE EVENTS OF LATITUDE 51° 50' N., LONGITUDE
ii° 50' W.
June 7th was a nasty-looking day; there was a
choppy sea, heavy rain, and thick weather. We
were steering east on our homeward course, and
at eight o'clock in the morning, when we were in
latitude 510 50' N. and longitude n° 50' w> a
torpedo was fired at us from the starboard side at
close range, which we couldn't have avoided if
we had wanted to. It jumped out of the water-
showing it was running shallow— and hit the ship
practically on the water line bang in the engine
room, making a 40-foot hole and bursting the after-
bulkhead. The engine room and boiler room formed
one compartment, and were at once filled with
water, together with No. 5 hold.
The alarm had already been sounded; on this
occasion there was no need to say "Torpedo hit,"
as, in addition to the lesson learned in Q-5, the ex-
plosion being so high up had made an extra loud
crash, and the loungers had been warned that a hit
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 227
would be in place of the verbal order. The star-
board lifeboat was blown to smithereens, only one
little bit of wood, which stuck on the aerial, being
left.
The helm was put to starboard as we were hit,
in order to form a lee for the boats. I watched the
panic party rushing to the boats in the latest ap-
proved fashion. The remaining one lifeboat and
two dinghies were lowered and filled with the crew.
Hereford, after taking the master's best cap, seized
his beloved stuffed parrot, and like a brave master
was the last to leave the ship, except for the un-
fortunate firemen who crawled out at the last mo-
ment. I also had to watch our defensive dummy gun
being abandoned without firing a shot, in spite of
going through pantomimic performances of trying
to load it ! The chief found his engine room already
occupied with water, and had to take up a hiding
billet again.
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE
I happened to know that Smith was again the
engineer officer on watch at the time, and took
it for granted he was killed, when, to my immense
astonishment, I saw him staggering along toward
his boat station within a minute of the explosion.
He was drenched to the skin, and didn't appear to
know what he was doing. I had him led quickly to
the saloon and locked up there, as being the safest
228 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
and quickest way to get rid of him. When I saw
him afterward he hadn't any idea of what had
happened, nor does he know to this day. He was
standing in the engine room by the starboard side
of the ship when he heard the alarm sound; he
just had time to wonder where the torpedo would
hit us, when it suddenly became black and he "was
swimming in the water for hours!" His duty after
being torpedoed was to join the panic party, and
obviously his subconscious mind was leading him,
trying to make him do it. It was a most extraor-
dinary escape, as the main engines, which were
farther away from the ship's side than he was, were
knocked down, all the engine-room ladders and
gratings were blown away, and it can only be as-
sumed that he was blown clean up through the
engine-room hatch. Pieces of coal, steel, etc., were
removed from his body and after months in hos-
pital he recovered. The man in the stokehold was
blown to pieces, but the second stoker was the most
fortunate of the lot, as he had just been sent on
deck with a message.
To go back to the action: Hereford again went
in charge of the boats. At first we could see no
signs of the submarine, but as the last boat was
shoving off at 8:15, the periscope was seen watch-
ing us from the port side about 400 yards off.
She turned and came straight toward the ship for
her inspection. I glanced through my slit and saw
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 229
the gun's crew on the forecastle lying as still as
the deck itself— not a speck of a face to be seen.
They knew nothing of what was going on beyond
that the ship had been torpedoed and their duty
for the time being was to pretend to be part of the
PLAN OF "PARGUST's" ACTION
deck. My admiration for them was intense, as al-
though everyone else on board was concealed, yet
the others were in places where they could anyhow
breathe in comfort and move their muscles. The
submarine, with only periscope showing, came to
within about 50 feet of the ship and passed close to
the boats. She then submerged altogether. This
23o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
was at 8:25. A few minutes later the periscope was
again seen close astern, passing to our starboard
side. Jack Orr was lying at the wheel, and I said,
"For goodness' sake, don't move." He said, "It's all
right, sir; I'm a lifebelt," and I saw he had pulled a
lifebelt over the most prominent part of his anatomy.
SUBMARINE BREAKS SURFACE
The signalman and I had to do a treble belly
crawl this time: first, as the submarine was passing
astern; then, as she was returning from an inspec-
tion of our starboard side to port side where the
SUBMARINE BREAKING SURFACE
boats were; and again when she came up the star-
board side. With the wind and sea the boats had
in the meantime drifted to our port quarter. {
At 8:33 the submarine broke surface on our port
side about 50 yards off the ship, but didn't open her
conning tower. Although one shot might with luck
have disabled her, I preferred to wait a more fa-
vourable chance when the lid was open. I had com-
plete faith in my crew remaining motionless. The
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 231
submarine was parallel to the ship and pointing
toward our stern, where the lifeboat was, with
Hereford standing up in his master's cap. He knew
I didn't want to open fire on a bearing on the quar-
ter if I could help it, as my 4-inch gun would not
depress far enough. He therefore with great cunning
and coolness proceeded to pull toward my star-
board side. The submarine followed him round, of
course taking a bigger circle.
SUCCESSFUL DECOY
By the time Hereford was on our starboard beam
I could see from the bridge the submarine coming
close up under our starboard quarter. The lid was
now open, and an officer — presumably the captain
— was on top with a megaphone, apparently shout-
ing directions to the boat and then giving orders
down the conning tower. I never took my eyes off
this officer: as long as he was up I knew I could
withhold my fire. When the submarine was clear
of the quarter, Hereford realized I could open fire
at any minute, and started to pull toward the ship,
his job being done. The boat's crew were starting
to laugh at seeing the submarine being slowly de-
coyed to her destruction, and they had to be cau-
tioned to remember that they were shipwrecked
mariners and had lost everything — it would never
have done for the crew of the submarine to see
them laughing.
232 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
The submarine evidently became annoyed at
seeing the boat pull back, as she started to sema-
phore, and a second man appeared with a rifle or
Maxim. There was nothing more to wait for — two
men were outside, and the submarine herself was
abeam of us about 50 yards away — and so at 8:36,
thirty-six minutes after being torpedoed, I gave
the order to open fire. At last the forecastle deck
were able to stand up and, tilting their gun up,
join with the remainder in a heavy fire. The first
shot hit the conning tower, and shot after shot
went the same way; it was practically point-blank
range. A torpedo was also fired, but did not hit;
it was really only fired as an afterthought, as gun-
fire on this occasion was available.
FOUR MINUTES' ACTION
The submarine started to heel over to port after
the first two or three shots. She was steaming
ahead, but stopped when on my bow with a heavy
list to port and oil coming out of her. She opened
the after-hatch; a large number of the crew came
out of both this hatch and the conning tower, held
up their hands, and some of them waved. I took
this as a signal of surrender and at once ordered
cease fire, but no sooner had we ceased firing
when she started ahead again. The men on the
after-part of her were washed into the sea. Although
she was apparently done, I was obliged to open
233
234 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
fire again, my ship being helpless, and to avoid any
risk of the submarine escaping in the mist. It was
lucky I had a gun on the forecastle, as for about
half a minute it was the only gun that would bear.
The forecastle gun's crew must have felt some
satisfaction at a reward for their long wait. The
ship being totally disabled, I could not turn her to
bring the other guns to bear, and it was not till
the submarine herself got clear of my bow that the
other guns could join in firing the last salvo. After
a few shots an explosion took place in the sub-
marine, and she fell over and sank about 300 yards
from the ship. The last seen of her was the sharp
end of her bow with someone clinging to it. From
the time of opening fire till the time she sank was
four minutes, thirty-eight rounds being fired alto-
gether during this time.
SAMPLE PRISONERS
Several men were seen in the water after the
submarine sank so the boats went to their assist-
ance, and after a good pull to windward they were
in time to save two. I couldn't help smiling when
Hereford reported, "We've again got a sample
of each." As in our previous action, wireless sig-
nals were now sent out for help, for although we
were in a far more stable condition than Q-5—
as only the centre part of the ship was flooded—
yet we were helpless without engines. I, of course,
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 235
informed Admiral Bayly of the action, and he sent
us a wireless signal: "C.-in-c. to Pargust. I con-
gratulate you and your crew most heartily on your
magnificent record, and deeply regret the loss of
one of your splendid ship's company."
The prisoners in the meantime were brought on
to the bridge in the chart room. The first in was
an officer, who, in addition to being wet through
and covered with oil, had been wounded in his
hand. After I had asked him his name, he collapsed
and was violently sick. I then asked him the num-
ber of his boat. He got up, stood to attention, and
said, "Sir, I am a naval officer and will not speak."
I said, "Well, you're a brave man," and sent him
down for a hot drink and a shift of clothing. The
submarine turned out to be the U.C.-29 — one of
the mine-layer class — and no doubt the explosion
at the end was caused by one of the mines. It was
a long way out for a submarine of this class to be,
as the water was too deep for laying mines.
We lay inert with nothing to be done till 12:30,
when the Crocus arrived, and in a very seamanlike
and expeditious manner took us in tow and towed
us for twenty-four hours. The Queenstown sloops
earned a grand reputation during the war for the
magnificent work they did in towing ships in ad-
dition to their other duties.
H.M.S. Zinnia and U.S.S. Cashing also arrived
and escorted the ship after the prisoners had been
236 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
transferred to the former with a hurried note from
me to the captain about them. She then took them
direct to harbour.
The tow was uneventful, there being no imme-
diate danger as long as the bulkheads held. All the
armament had been concealed again, and we were
ready for action, but with an escort such an event
was unlikely.
We eventually arrived at Queenstown at 3 p. m.
on June 8th, and were towed up to the dockyard.
As this was the first time we had had the honour
of being escorted by one of the American destroy-
ers, I broke all my usual orders, and called all hands
on deck to give three cheers for U.S.S. Cushing as
she parted company off Roche's Point. In addition
to being allies, we had the great thing in common
of being under the same commander-in-chief. Ad-
miral Bayly came to meet us outside the harbour
and to see what could be done, telling us we were
a great asset to the country. At this time it was not
known what damage had been done to the en-
gines, and whether she could be refitted in a rea-
sonable time or not. I requested to be towed to
Plymouth, because it was a bigger yard where I
thought repairs or the fitting out of a new ship
would be expedited. We were taken up harbour
and placed alongside the dockyard for the night,
while the Admiralty were being communicated
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 237
with. The following day approval came for us to
go to Plymouth, and we started at once in tow
of the tug. On the way round we, as was usual at
sea, remained ready for instant action. I had been
offered an escort, but preferred to sail without, since
I thought we made rather a good bait. If attached
the tug would come alongside, take off the panic
party, and leave us for the rest of the stunt. We
got there safely after a tow altogether of over 400
miles. The ship was dry-docked as soon as pos-
sible, and after all the water had been got out, it
was found that the repairs would take so long that
we got permission to pay her off and start again.
My official report had in the meantime been sent
in. I had no difficulty in stating accurately the ex-
act time of events, as Nunn was at the fire-control
station and exchange on the bridge within hail of
me and noted down everything as it happened;
but when it came to remarking about the conduct
of my crew, matters became more difficult, as on
the occasion of Q-5. I could only say the same as
before, that it was a 100 per cent, affair. Any one
individual could have ruined the whole show. I
wasn't over-staffed with officers, but even if I had
been it wouldn't have helped much if some indi-
vidual had given the show away. For instance, the
men who formed the forecastle deck: had one man
moved an inch he would have spoiled the whole
238 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
show, and it takes a little doing to lie motionless
as they had to, after the ship was torpedoed, for
thirty-six minutes.
It may appear that the men in the boats had a
fairly quiet number, after they had merely run the
risk of being torpedoed; but this was not the case,
as I had always told them that the chances would
be that the submarine would make toward the
boats, and I might find it necessary to open fire
when she was actually among them, and on this oc-
casion the lifeboat didn't miss her by much. Had
the two men on the conning tower showed any sus-
picion and gone below, I should have been obliged
to open fire with our own men in the line of fire.
They knew it, and not only never wavered, but,
as already mentioned, had to be reprimanded for
being too light-hearted.
We were indeed fortunate in having only one
man killed by the torpedo— a very fine fellow —
Stoker Petty Officer Isaac Radford. After our ar-
rival at Plymouth we were able to bury him with
naval honours. Smith had a narrow squeak, yet
not only did he come out alive, but his pig-headed
Scotch blood got him over his sufferings and he
served again before the war ended. Admiral Bayly
summed my crew up by saying that they had shown
a "disciplined and most efficient loyalty in the
Farnborough and the Pargust, have been twice tor-
pedoed, and are a great asset to the country."
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 239
"high commendation"
I was ordered to convey to the officers and men
under my orders the Admiralty's "high commen-
dation of the admirable discipline and courage
shown by them in this encounter, which will stand
high in the records of gallantry of the Royal Navy."
The ship, as before, was also awarded £1,000.
The greatest honour of all was awarded the ship
by H.M. the King, when he approved of one Vic-
toria Cross being awarded to an officer and one to
a man of H.M. S. Pargust, the recipient in each case
being selected by the officers and men respectively,
in accordance with Clause 13 of the Statutes of the
Victoria Cross.
This clause states: "It is ordained that in the
event of any unit of our naval . . . force, consisting
in the case of our Navy of a squadron, flotilla, or
ship's company . . . having distinguished itself
collectively by the performance of an act of heroic
gallantry or daring in the presence of the enemy in
such a way that the Admiral ... in command of
the Force to which such a unit belongs is unable to
single out any individual as especially preeminent
in gallantry or daring, then one or more of the
officers . . . seamen in the ranks comprising the unit
shall be selected to be recommended to us for the
award of the Victoria Cross in the following manner
. . . The selection to be by secret ballot . . ."
24o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
This was indeed a very great honour, as it was
the first time in the history of the Navy that a
whole ship had been so honoured.
My officers did me the honour of expressing their
wish that I should be the officer recipient, but I,
of course, could not agree to this, as I already felt
that the Victoria Cross I wore was on behalf of
my crew and through no special act of my own.
I arranged for the ballot to be carried out by an
officer outside the ship, and the Victoria Cross was
awarded to Lieut. R. N. Stuart, D.S.O., R.N.R.,
the first lieutenant, and Seaman W. Williams,
R.N.R., from Wales.
I have already mentioned how any one man
could spoil the show. I might have added that one
man could save the show. When the explosion of
the torpedo took place, the releasing weight of the
starboard gun-ports was freed by the force of the
explosion, and but for the great presence of mind
of Williams in taking the whole weight of the port
on himself and so preventing it falling down and
prematurely exposing the gun, the action might
never have taken place.
Some years after the war the Admiralty de-
cided that in cases of this sort a notation was to be
made on each man's service certificate to the ef-
fect that he had taken part in a ballot for the
award of a V.C., the wording being as follows:
" So-and-so participated in ballot for award of
VICTORY AND VICTORIA CROSS 241
V.C. to members of ship's company of H.M.S.
Pargust."
The ship's career as the Pargust had been a brief
one, but not uneventful, and she did her part in
helping to make history.
List of Awards After Sinking U.C.-29
Victoria Cross
Lieutenant Ronald Neil Stuart, D.S.O., R.N.R.
Seaman William Williams, D.S.M., R.N.R.
Distinguished Service Order
Acting-Lieutenant Francis R. Hereford, D.S.C.,
R.N.R.
Bar to Distinguished Service Order
Captain Gordon Campbell, V.C, D.S.O., R.N.
Bar to Distinguished Service Cross
Acting-Lieutenant Richard P. Nisbet, D.S.C.,
R.N.R.
Assistant-Paymaster Reginald A. Nunn, D.S.C.,
R.N.R.
Distinguished Service Medal
Seaman James Thomson, R.N.R.
Signalman Charles W. Hurrell, R.N.V.R.
P. O. Ernest Pitcher.
242 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Stoker George Rees, R.N.R.
Seaman John Stephen Martindale, R.N.R.
Leading Stoker William H. King, R.N.R.
Leading Seaman Ernest A. Veale.
S.S.A. Alfred F. J. Couch.
Mentioned in Dispatches
Engineer-Lieutenant Leonard S. Loveless, D.S.O.,
D.S.C., R.N.R.
Engineer-Sub-Lieutenant James W. Grant, D.S.C.,
R.N.R.
Engineer-Sub-Lieutenant John Smith, D.S.C.,
R.N.R. (wounded).
Warrant Telegraphist Allan Andrews, D.S.M.,
R.N.R.
Chief Petty Officer George Henry Truscott, D.S.M.
Wireless Telegraph Operator William Statham.
Leading Seaman Edward Cooper.
beaman Robert Pitt, R.N.R.
Seaman John Keane, R.N.R.
Stoker Petty Officer, I. Davies.
Chief Steward Alfred C. Townshend.
Promoted to Captain
Commander Gordon Campbell, V.C., D.S.O., R.N.
CHAPTER XIII
H.M.S. "DUNRAVEN"
Fitting out — Important Innovations — Pantomime
Drill
The paying off of the Par gust took longer than Q-5,
as we had to dock the ship and then clear her our-
selves. A good deal of the coal had found its way
into the stokehold, and all this had to be got out
in addition to the other formalities, and of course
on this occasion all the stores had to be returned.
While employed on paying off I was so late
getting away from the ship one night that I missed
the last train which takes you across Brunei
Bridge, connecting Devonshire and Cornwall, to
Saltash, where I lived. I decided to walk, but ar-
riving at the Devon side of the bridge, I was held
up by a "Halt! Who goes there?" I found I was
up against the Plymouth Volunteers. I was in uni-
form, and asked permission to walk across the
bridge, which incidentally is only for rail traffic.
The sergeant finally informed me he would let
me go, provided I had no objection to marching
under escort. Being used to that sort of thing, I
readily assented, and fell in between two
privates, while Saltash was communicated with
243
244 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
and asked to send a relief escort to meet me halfway.
We started off in military style, but unfortunately
we met an express train, and it became a question
of "safety first." The military step was broken,
and we took cover; but as soon as the train was
passed, the Volunteers, like good old soldiers, took
charge of me till I was turned over to the Saltash
Guard with "a naval officer returning from duty."
I happened to meet the officer of the guard, an
old friend of mine, next day, and asked him if
anyone was allowed to walk across the bridge. He
replied with a straight face but a twinkle in his
eye, "On no account."
After the Par gust was in and the damage ascer-
tained, no time was lost in asking for another ship
to fit out. Cardiff again supplied the new ship, this
time the Dunraven, a ship of about 3,000 tons, but
slightly larger than either the Farnborough or the
Pargust. I decided on this occasion not to change
the name at all, and we always (except for cruising
purposes) remained the Dunraven.
She was a double well-deck ship, and had a much
larger poop than her predecessors: her length was
331 feet, as compared with the 317 feet of the
Pargust. Her one fault, as far as I could see, was
that the donkey boiler was down below, and would
not be available if torpedoed in the engine room.
She was so suitable otherwise, however, that this
had to be accepted.
H.M.S. " DUNRAVEN " 24s
We were again fortunate in being fitted out at
Devonport, as, in addition to the fact that Mr.
Mason and his assistants, Mr. Freathy and Mr.
Sitters, were still there, a lot of others again took
a personal interest in us and gave us of their best.
Devonport also had the advantage of being at
least temporarily the home port of the crew, and
so the evenings could be spent in some well-earned
recreation. During the fitting out of the Dunraven
I had, as in the case of the Pargust, much to occupy
my time besides superintending the fitting out.
Nearly all officers who were appointed to command
mystery ships were sent to me for such assistance
and advice as I could give them, and in addition
I had to prepare a general memorandum on the
subject.
I also had to keep up to date with all the latest
information concerning the movements of subma-
rines in our waters and the various actions with
them. The crew lived in the barracks and came
down to the ship each morning or not as required,
according to whether they could assist the dock-
yard or be in the way. If not required aboard, gun
drill would be carried out at the gunnery school.
Jack Orr not being needed one day, I asked him
if he would go out to my house and tidy up the
garden for me, and sure enough he did: when I
got home I found all the stones had been white-
washed like a coastguard cottage, and my budding
246 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
seeds rooted up as weeds. As he explained, the
garden looked a bit more shipshape now.
We now had the experience of two ships to work
on in fitting out the Dunraven, and improve-
ments were made in many details. Our main arma-
ment was the same as the Par gust, and we placed
the guns in similar positions — a tilting 12-pounder
on the forecastle, one each side in cabins similar
to the Pargust, a tilting 12-pounder on the after-
end of the boat deck, and a 4-inch gun on the poop.
FITTING OUT
We also got a real defensive gun, a 2|-pounder,
but our dummy 12-pounder had been salved from
the Pargust, and we carried it on board, on the mess
deck, as a curio. The fitting of the poop played a
large part in the subsequent action, and is worth
following with some care.
Right aft on the usual raised platform, such as
was fitted in other tramp steamers, was the 2§-
pounder visible to all. On the poop deck, which had
been slightly sunk in order to reduce the height
of the gun, was the 4-inch gun. It was in a hatch,
as in the Pargust. In order to enable the gun to
have practically an all-round fire, it was necessary
to arrange for the rail round the poop and for the
shrouds of the mainmast to be easily removed.
The sides of the hatch were hinged to fall outward
by their own weight. The rails round the poop were
H.M.S. "DUNRAVEN" 247
hinged to fall inward, and they were connected
by wires through various fair-leads to the sides of
the hatch.
The rigging of the mainmast was also fitted with
slips, which in their turn were connected to the
sides of the hatch, which was kept up by a tumbler
and pin. The net result was that when the pin
was removed, the sides of the hatch fell out and
lay flat on the deck; in doing this they pulled the
rails inward and they fell on the deck; the slips
of the rigging were released and the shrouds fell to-
ward the mast, giving the gun a wide arc of fire.
All the leads and blocks of this arrangement had
to be kept in the most perfect order, since al-
though the pin on which the collapse of the whole
contraption depended was securely kept in place
and took a good blow to remove in order to avoid
any risk of an explosion prematurely removing it,
yet when once it was removed, it was essential
that no speck of grit or clotted oil should be in the
way of a complete collapse. The arrangement may
appear rather complicated, and so it did to us when
we first tried to make it all collapse; but when once
everything was made to hinge at exactly the right
angle (and it must be remembered that the stern
of the poop was round), there was no further
trouble. This idea of having the rails and rigging
made to collapse had not been thought of when we
fitted out the Pargust, and it was a very great
248 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
improvement, though, as it turned out, it never
came into practical use.
On the front end of the poop were three samson-
posts which could be removed or not at will. On
the centre one was a derrick which lay directly
over the top of the gun; the topping lift of it led to
the top of the centre samson-post and had a weight
DIAGRAM OF "DUNRAVEn's" POOP INTERNALLY
attached to it inside. The end of the derrick was
attached to the after-side of the hatch. Lying on
the derrick were odd bits of dirty canvas hanging
up to dry, or washed clothes, or a rope flaked down :
whatever it happened to be, it completely concealed
the part of the gun which was above the hatch.
When the sides of the hatch collapsed, as already
explained, the derrick was released also, and the
weight inside the samson-post pulled the derrick,
together with what was on it, up in the air and
clear of the gun. Just beside the hatch was what ap-
249
250 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
peared to be an ordinary hawser reel — a round steel
drum on which ropes are reeled. In reality it was a
dummy with slits cut in it, and a small periscope;
this was the place for the officer of the gun, Bon-
ner, and he got into it from underneath, through 'a
trap door, similar to the way in which the crew got
into the gun hatch.
The inside of the poop was quite a large space;
in the middle right aft were storerooms and the
spirit room, on either side of which were two depth
charges ready to be released through the stern ports.
These depth charges were of the large type, each
containing 300 pounds of explosive.
In the middleman of the poop space were the 4-
inch magazine and shell room and the 2|-pounder
magazine, all ready for supplying the guns if the
ready supply (which was always kept at the guns
.themselves) became exhausted. The roof of these
magazines was the deck of the poop. The 12-
pounder magazines were, as before, on the mess
decks. On either side of the magazines was a small
alleyway, and against the ship's side a mess deck
on one side for the guns' crews and storerooms on
the other. The other arrangements in the ship were
similar to the Pargust, including the two torpedo
tubes.
IMPORTANT INNOVATIONS
At this time in the war nearly all merchant ships
were fitted with wireless, so instead of concealing
H.M.S. "DUNRAVEN" 251
our aerial we had the ordinary arrangement, and it
could be seen we were so fitted.
It happened that about this time a large quan-
tity of railway trucks were being sent to the Medi-
terranean— I think for Salonika — and so we de-
cided to have some ready. We therefore had four
very fine, full-sized railway trucks made of canvas
and wood and easily collapsible, so that we could
carry them or not as we liked. It turned out after-
ward that this idea was one of our luckiest brain-
waves.
While fitting out, news was received that
Lieutenant-Commander Hallwright, who had
towed us in the Q-5, had been killed in action.
Details showed that he had been lying in his look-
out at the end of the bridge of his Q-sloop, H.M.S.
Heather, when a shell from a submarine had struck
the ship. A splinter had penetrated the deck, hit
his head, and killed him. On hearing of this, I ar-
ranged for the ends of the bridge to be armoured
with i-inch plating, which, of course, had the wood
outside it; thus each end of the bridge had a three-
sided plated lookout with slits cut. If it had not
been for this arrangement I should not be writing
now, for both Hereford and I would have joined
the great majority. We also made a further innova-
tion in the form of a perforated steam pipe, which
was led round the upper works. If steam were ad-
mitted from a valve on the bridge, it formed a
252 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
cloud all over the centre of the ship, the pipe being
perforated with tiny holes. The idea of the thing
was that in the event of our being shelled, by turn-
ing the steam on we could pretend we had been
hit in the engine room if we wished to do so.
It is a strange coincidence how things invariably
come in threes, and these three innovations — the
railway trucks, armoured end of bridge, and false
steam pipe — all played an important part in the
next action, although we had never required them
before.
I couldn't, even if I wished to, say who actually
thought of these innovations, or of the methods of
disguising the guns and the various other improve-
ments which had been made from time to time in
the whole outfit since we commenced the job. We
were always discussing the subject in the mess, and
the men were encouraged to put forward ideas.
The possibility of there being such a thing as an
inventions board didn't enter our heads at that
time, and perhaps it was as well, the good of the
Service and the success of the war being the only
matters of real importance.
My crew came on with me from the Pargust;
small changes only were made, owing to sickness,
etc., but as before all the crew were now volunteers,
and my friend with the upstanding hair was the
first to volunteer, although he had now been tor-
pedoed twice.
H.M.S. "DUNRAVEN" 253
My first lieutenant, Stuart, had a chance given
him to command a Q-sloop of his own, and loath
as I was to part with him, it was obviously for his
own good and for that of the Service. I filled his
place with Lieutenant Bonner, who was serving
as my second officer. I had run across him casually
at the barracks, and he struck me as being cut out
for the job. He had had a varied experience. At
the beginning of the war he was in a tramp steamer
at Antwerp, and being anxious for a scrap, he
took the shortest path and joined the Belgian
army. He was removed from that as a suspected
person, came over to England, and volunteered
for the R.N.R. Volunteers not being required at
that time, he joined the R.N.V.R. at the Crystal
Palace; being a fine-looking fellow, he found him-
self a petty officer, and back again in Antwerp
with the Naval Division. He didn't see the fun of
being interned with the remainder, so, making his
way to the Scheldt, he secured a boat and rowed
himself down, and in due course got back to the
Crystal Palace. His conduct not meeting with ap-
proval, he was sent to a cruiser in the 10th Cruiser
Squadron as an ordinary seaman; but after a few
weeks of this it was discovered that R.N.R. officers
were required after all, and he got his commission
as sub-lieutenant R.N.R., and joined the Trawler
Section at Larne. I took him on as second lieuten-
ant, and now as first.
254 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
One of the most painful things I ever had to do
was in connection with Smith. I had been obliged to
fill his place, as, in addition to bad blood-poisoning,
his nerves were shattered; but just when we were
nearing our completion, he came all the way from
Scotland, without anyone's permission, and said he
insisted on sailing again. At first I couldn't refuse
him to his face, but I could see he wasn't fit for it
and reluctantly had to decoy him to hospital. But
like the rest of them, he didn't want to give in, and
we all missed him and his dog, which, like himself,
had come to grief in the engine room.
Thanks to the steady working of the dockyard
and all concerned, we fitted this ship out in what
must have been record time. Although all the crew
had been kept together and were working on the
fitting out, we didn't actually commission till they
were able to live on board, which was July 28th — •
seven weeks after our last action and eleven days
before our final one.
The Dunraven was a beautiful ship, and her ar-
rangements in every detail were as perfect as we
could wish for. The gadgets we wanted fitted," the
special stores we required, and a hundred and one
things were nearly all outside the ordinary run of
the naval service, and yet we never wanted for
anything that the dockyard could possibly do for
us or give us. They even fitted my cabin to my lik-
ing, and built me a small bathroom on the bridge!
H.M.S. "DUNRAVEN" 255
There was one thing we missed in all our ships,
including this one, and that was electric light. We
only had a small dynamo specially fitted for the
wireless, which wasn't supposed to be used for any
other purpose. But we generally managed to wan-
gle a few bulbs and some leads, and, when out of
sight of the dockyard, we were able to rig up a
few electric lights in the ship, which we used when
in harbour and were not using the wireless.
Soon after the Armistice was signed, when our
actions had been published, I took the opportunity
of expressing what we felt in a letter to our c.-in-c.
I said :
Now that reports of the actions of Q-ships have been
published, showing as they do how necessary it was for the
disguises of the ships to be perfect to insure success, the
inspection by the enemy taking place from a fewiyards, I
should like to be allowed to express the sense of gratitude
myself, officers, and men feel toward th<^ various depart-
ments of Devonport and Haulbowline dockyards who as-
sisted toward this end.
The three ships which I commanded— the Famborough
(Q-S)> the Pargust, and the Dunraven—were all fitted
out at Devonport, the Famborough being refitted and im-
proved at Haulbowline; and thanks to the help, energy, and
skilful work of the dockyards, we were able to face the
enemy with a complete confidence that the outward appear-
ance of our ship and the rapid and efficient method of dis-
carding our disguise would insure success so long as we did
our part. Such successes as we had were in no small part
due to the dockyard, and we thank them.
The admiral superintendent sent a reply in the
following terms :
256 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
On behalf of the officers and men of the dockyard who
were engaged in the fitting out of Q-ships, I desire to express
their grateful appreciation of this generous acknowledgment
of the share they were privileged to take in the efforts so gal-
lantly and successfully made by the Royal Navy to combat
and overcome the submarine menace.
It mustn't be thought that we loved the dock-
yard so much that we always wanted them on
board: as soon as we commissioned we got rid of
them, and went out to Plymouth Sound for a
good rub up in our drill and to get everything
tested.
As in the case of the Pargust, we did some drill
in the dockyard to see that all the fittings were in
working order. Of course our drill here merely
consisted of ordinary gun drill that might be seen
anywhere; we didn't do any of the panic drill or
give away any secrets that the dockyard couldn't
see for themselves.
PANTOMIME DRILL
The submarine activity was so intense that, as
in the Pargust, there was no going round to Bere-
haven for a shakedown — at least we had to be
ready to meet a submarine once clear of the har-
bour. I have often wondered since what would
have happened in the Farnborough if we had met a
submarine the first day out, with a totally in-
competent and seasick crew on board; but now,
once we had everything in working order, had
H.M.S. "DUNRAVEN" 257
done gun trials off the Eddystone with an escort to
protect us, and had a few days' shakedown, we
felt ready and confident for anything. The depth
charges we had on board had some new fittings to
them, and I asked for an expert to be sent down
from the torpedo ship. An old pensioner warrant
officer was sent; he had not been told who or what
we were, and as we were all in our get-up rig he
supposed we were an ordinary tramp. He confided
to Truscott that he thought I was a bit young to be
in command of such a big steamer, and in any case
he thought it was asking for trouble to put depth
charges on board of tramps at all. He said, "You
fellows don't know how to use these things."
While he was carrying out his examination I
happened to walk along and ask how he was getting
on. He treated me with average contempt, and
proceeded to tell me all about depth charges,
piling it on no end. After a few minutes I had had
enough, and in order to get away I said, "Well,
come along to my cabin when you are finished," and
walked off. He whispered to Truscott : " I'm off now.
I know what some of these skippers are — they for-
get. And I'm not going to miss my tot this time."
Having had a yarn with him and heard how he
reckoned the war ought to be run, I went to the top
of the gangway with him. As it happened, one of
the boat's crew was an old shipmate of mine and
recognized me. When the warrant officer got into
258 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
the boat with the remark to me of, " So long, old
cock," or some such expression, instead of the
man keeping his mouth shut he at once told him
who I was. I thought the warrant officer would
die on the spot!
Of course, in the sound, where other merchant
ships were lying, all our pantomime drill was done
during darkness, except for what could be done
inside the ship, such as gun drill in the cabins, etc.
During the day we lay without many signs of activ-
H.M.S. "DUN RAVEN" 259
ity, like the rest of them — perhaps a man or two
spent a few hours scraping and red-leading — but
nothing was done which might arouse suspicion.
The crew were of course quite perfect by this time
at doing the correct thing in harbour with other
merchant ships close, but on one earlier occasion I
discovered a man up the funnel, red-leading it, not
only on a Sunday, but also dressed in a tailcoat
which he had brought back from leave with him.
There had always been a danger of that sort of
thing, as once sailors are allowed to dress up, there
is no knowing what may happen next.
One afternoon the missions to seamen chaplain
came off when on his tour visiting the ships. He
was told he was not allowed on board. He wanted,
he said, to look up the men in the forecastle but,
permission being denied, he handed out a lot of
tracts in all languages, with the remark that he
expected we had some Scandinavians for'ard! He
had done his job with zeal, but we couldn't help
laughing at the idea of the Scandinavians.
On August 4th, after three or four days in the
sound, and now feeling quite ready for any eventu-
ality, we sailed. Had the crew been a new one, I
couldn't have done it, because I have already made
it clear that so many details had to be made perfect
that weeks or months were required to train a
crew; but I had the old crowd, and the few new
ones were soon imbued with the spirit of the old.
CHAPTER XIV
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL"
Gunfire Attack — Coming Events — "S 0 S" — Fire
Reopened— Dangers of Rescue— The Frightful Survey
—Identity Revealed— A Sporting Chance— ' I Abandon
Shi^'—Trying Moments— Shelled— Only a Periscope
My original intention on leaving Plymouth
was to have gone direct to Queenstown to show our
new ship to the c.-in c, but submarines were busy
in the Bay of Biscay, and I decided to make a
detour in that direction. So on leaving Plymouth
we set course for Gibraltar, sailing as a Blue Funnel
steamer with our upper-deck cargo of four railway
trucks — obviously bound for Army service in the
East and, therefore, an attractive bait. Just before
we sailed a R.N.V.R. lieutenant had come on board
with some "Notices to Mariners," and was most
indignant with me for not having a gangway down
for him and making him climb up a rope ladder.
Having delivered his goods, he departed, still very
annoyed, with a note in his book that we were
bound for France carrying building material!
During the first three days out we received wire-
260
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 261
less reports which indicated that an enemy sub-
marine was busy in the bay, and furthermore that
her commander appeared to favour his gun in
preference to torpedoes, as ships were being at-
tacked by gunfire.
GUNFIRE ATTACK
This method of attack was not what we wanted,
as although even in a torpedo'! attack the odds
were in favour of the submarine, yet in a gunfire
attack the odds became still more in her favour.
She could shell a ship at long range, and there
would be no particular reason why she should close
until the ship she was firing at was put out of action.
In a ship such as we were, a lucky shot from her
might touch off any of the ready-use ammunition
which was at the guns, extending really the whole
length of the ship, and a still more lucky shot
might get one or more of the magazines. In the
case of being torpedoed, there was a reasonable
chance of decoying her to come close to the ship;
but why should she if she was going to destroy her
quarry by long-range bombardment ?
How was this sort of attack to be dealt with?
When ships were for the most part not defensively
armed, the gunfire attack was a close-range one;
but now the submarines always kept their distance
or chose a bearing that suited them. If the mer-
chant ship replied with her gun, the submarine
262 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
either kept out of range, or if the shots were falling
close to her, she could dive.
The ship was a big target to the submarine and
the submarine was a small target to the ship. We
had thought out a long-range gunfire attack in
harbour, and agreed that a torpedo attack, al-
though a big gamble, gave more hopes of success,
but we had arranged every conceivable detail for
attempting to decoy a submarine close to us in
the event of a long-range gunfire attempt. On no
account did I intend to open fire on her at a greater
range than 1,000 yards unless a premature ex-
plosion or other accident disclosed our identity.
And so now, when we expected gunfire attack,
we felt confident of dealing with it. From our wire-
less reports we appeared to be closing toward this
gunfiring submarine, and on the night of August
7th — acting on our estimation — I altered course to
the northward on a homeward track to meet her.
This necessitated collapsing the railway trucks
and laying them on the deck, as no ships carried
railway trucks to England.
August 7th had been a very still day, with fog
banks hanging around; there seemed to be a gen-
eral air of expectancy on board, and we wondered
how long it would be before we met the foe. In
the afternoon there was in sight a three-masted
schooner, painted white, and looking a perfect pic-
ture. She suddenly disappeared in the fog, and I
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 263
would not have given it another thought but for a
conversation that was overheard in the galley
(kitchen) that night. The men, after falling out
from their guns, would gather here for a yarn be-
fore turning in. On this night the conversation
started with: "I wonder what luck this ship will
have?" "Same as last," someone replied. "I expect
we will strike a tin fish" (nickname for torpedo),
"and pretty quick, too," chipped in one of the old
salts. "I've heard of the Phantom Ship in the Bay
of Biscay before, but I never believed it till I and
several others saw it this afternoon. There she was
on our starboard beam, when suddenly she van-
ished. Bad sign— something happens to the ship
that sights her, so I'm told."
COMING EVENTS
Someone started to ridicule the idea.
"Coming events cast their shadow," another
replied. "Don't you remember how the birds used
to fly into the skipper's cabin? And when we said
it was a good omen, you laughed then."
One of the wireless ratings who had been stand-
ing at the door said, "Well, it is funny you should
be talking like this, because I've had a feeling all
day that I am going to be wounded, and I've gone
out of my way to have a good bath, so as to be nice
and clean if anything happens."
As he was saying it, another wireless rating
264 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
entered and said, "That's funny, 'cos I've just had
a bath for the same reason."
: No wonder sailors are superstitious, as by a
strange coincidence, or whatever you like to call it,
the man who made the remark about "coming
events" was mortally wounded the following day,
and the two wireless ratings were both seriously
wounded.
On August 8th — four days after leaving harbour
— we sighted a submarine. It was at 10:58 in the
forenoon, when we were in latitude 480 N., longi-
tude 70 37' W., and doing a zigzag course, as all
merchant ships did in those days.
The submarine was sighted on the horizon just
before our starboard beam, and she was steering
toward the ship. We assumed our usual role of a
bad lookout and did nothing. She remained in
sight till 11:17, when she submerged. We still
hoped she was going to torpedo us, and she gave
us a long time to wait and think about it; but our
forecast from the wireless reports proved correct,
and at 11:43, 45 minutes after we had sighted her,
she came up nearly dead astern at a distance of
about 5,000 yards, and the captain opened fire
with his big gun — a 4.1-inch, I think. Our organiza-
tion for meeting this situation and decoying him
now came into being. The Red Ensign was hoisted
at the ensign staff and the 2§-pounder gun at once
returned the fire, with orders that the shots must
H. M. S. Dunraven, showing splinters on bridge after being
shelled. Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell is seen with pipe in
mouth and Lieutenant Hereford with back turned. The
splinters on lower bridge deck are against the "armour."
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 265
all go well short, in order to encourage him closer.
They also had frequent misfires and delays — in
fact, their firing was to be a perfect disgrace to any
naval gunner. As a matter of fact, the crew con-
sisted of three very fine men — Leading Seaman
Cooper, Seaman Williams, V.C., and Wireless
Operator Statham. They had a difficult job, and
were fully exposed to the enemy shell fire, without
any cover, and not only did they carry out their
job to perfection, but appeared to enjoy the
humour of it.
"s o s"
The ship herself was pretending to try to escape;
in reality we reduced speed by one knot, which also
reduced the range, but, in order to avoid any detec-
tion of our reduced speed, we made as much smoke
as we could and only made an occasional zigzag.
As it happened, we were steering head to sea,
which was not advantageous to the submarine, and
had we really wished to escape I think we could
have done so. In addition to our smoke and bad
shooting, we attempted to assure her of our bona
fides by making fake wireless signals en clair. There
was just a chance she had her aerial rigged, and
would take them in; we therefore made such
signals as "SOS," "Submarine chasing and
shelling me," "Submarine overtaking me," "Help,
come quickly." None of these signals had any posi-
tion attached to them, so that no one could inter-
266 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
fere with us; but of course they were a source of
annoyance to the Lizard and other stations, who
kept asking, "What is your position?" to which
we gave no reply, being in too much of a "panic."
While all this was going on, the men who usually
lounged about took such cover from the shelling as
they could. This would be the ordinary procedure
of a tramp, and in any case the submarine was too
far off to see what was happening on board. As a
matter of fact, the precaution was unnecessary,
as at this period, although the shelling was very
persistent and she must have fired a lot of rounds,
yet she never hit us. Nearly all her shots fell just
over the bow — in fact, we were steaming into them
all the time. Of course, from where the submarine
was, she would not see the splashes, and was prob-
ably under the impression she was hitting us.
FIRE REOPENED
At 12:10, after having shelled us for half an hour
and apparently being satisfied that our after-gun
wasn't much good, she ceased firing and steamed
toward us at apparently full speed. While closing
us she didn't fire; I presume she was unable to do so,
owing to the sea. At 12:25 she turned broadside
on and reopened fire. She was now about 1,000
yards off, and I passed the word along to stand by
to abandon ship — but I had to wait for the psy-
chological moment before playing this next card. I
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 267
didn't want to get hit, but I didn't want to make
the next move precipitately. Her shooting was get-
ting more accurate, but she was now slightly on our
quarter and could see her own splashes, so would
know where most of her shots were falling, and they
were now going all around us.
This part of the action went on for a quarter of an
hour, when at 12:40 the moment arrived for the
next move. A shot fell a foot or so off the ship's
side abreast the engine room. I instantly turned
steam on from the bridge and enveloped the centre
part of the ship in steam to pretend we had been
hit in the engine and boiler rooms. At the same
moment the ship was stopped, steam blown off,
and "Abandon ship" was ordered. The panic party
got busy and the usual pandemonium reigned.
The 2 f -pounder also ceased fire, and was aban-
doned. At the last moment an en clair signal of
"Am abandoning ship" was also made.
At the time of ordering "Abandon ship," I put the
helm to starboard, which brought our port beam to-
ward the submarine. It would be natural for a ship
to fall off her course on stopping, and also I wanted
her to see the panic party. A boat on her side was
let down end up and all the usual procedure took
place.
DANGERS OF RESCUE
As soon as we stopped she naturally closed
rapidly, but fired three more shells before ceasing
268 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
fire. Probably she didn't realize at once we had
stopped. Be that as it may, the three shells were
unlucky for us: the first one of this three hit the
poop and a big explosion took place. I thought at
first by the noise of the explosion that the magazine
had blown up, in which case the game would be up.
I couldn't see at the time what exactly had hap-
pened, owing to the steam, nor did I realize that
the explosion was a comparatively trivial thing
compared with what was to follow, so I made a
wireless signal to "men-of-war" that the magazine
had blown up and I required assistance. I did not
know how far off the nearest of H.M. ships was,
as we were off the area of the ordinary patrols,
but I thought it would be about fifty miles away.
I had always to keep in mind that although we
didn't want ships in sight while our job was in
hand, as their presence would cause the submarine
to submerge, yet assistance was desirable as quickly
as possible after an action: in the first place, to
save the ship, if the action had been successful; and
in the event of an unsuccessful one or your hand
being called — as appeared the case now — assistance
was required to save the crew. When once the
submarine realized what she was up against, she
could torpedo the ship till it sank — as she did on
several occasions — and unnecessary lives would
be lost or the crew taken prisoners.
A few minutes later, when the steam cleared, I
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 269
could see the poop was still intact and our secret
not disclosed. I at once made another signal to
all H.M. ships to "Keep away for the present."
This was essential, as by chance a battleship
escorted by destroyers happened to be homeward
bound from the Mediterranean, and had answered
my first call, saying she was sending a destroyer.
This was the last thing we wanted, now we were
still more or less intact. The destroyer therefore
(unknown to us at the time) remained out of sight
about fifteen miles away and diverted all shipping.
As it turned out afterward, this first explosion
was probably only one depth charge— which
severely wounded Statham of the 2§-pounder gun's
crew and also Seaman Morrison, D.S.M., R.N.R.,
who was in charge of the depth charges. This latter
man was blown through the poop doors, and was
found by one of the 2§-pounder gun's crew, who
was on his way to join the "abandon ship" party.
Morrison was trying to stagger back to his post,
although badly wounded, because, as he said, "I
am in charge of the depth charges and must get
back to them."
THE FRIGHTFUL SURVEY
This explosion also blew Bonner out of his hawser
reel, but with great presence of mind he crawled
into the hatch with the 4-inch gun's crew. The
next two shells also landed in the poop and set it on
27o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
fire. I have already described the contents of the
poop, and I would sooner have had any other part
of the ship on fire than that. The prospects did not
look particularly hopeful, though it was now that I
sent my signal to keep away, as there was still a
chance. The panic party had in the meantime been
busy and the boats were just leaving the ship.
The submarine having ceased fire was now steer-
ing toward the ship to pass under our stern, but
black smoke was pouring out of the poop and
going straight over the submarine. I was now
faced with a great decision to make — the poop was
on fire, the 4-inch gun and its crew were on the
poop, in fact on the magazine. I knew for a cer-
tainty that the poop would blow up, and with it the
gun's crew. I couldn't order the crew to leave the
gun, as the ship was "abandoned" and the boats
away. On the other hand, the submarine, although
just visible, was hardly so, and each second was
getting more obscured by the smoke. If I opened
fire I would save the men on the poop, but would
we get the submarine? I doubted it: the target was
a too hazy one even to me, and I had the best view.
If I waited a bit he would soon be through the
smoke and on our weather side, and as he was
coming along to pass close to us, this would be the
opportunity to get him — not ideal, because when
he ceased fire his gun's crew had returned inside
the conning tower and the lid was shut; but it
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 271
would be a reasonable chance and the best we
would now be likely to get, for as soon as the poop
blew up I knew our identity would be disclosed.
To cold-bloodedly leave the gun's crew to their
fate seemed awful, and the names of each of them
flashed through my mind, but our duty was to sink
the submarine. By losing a few men we might save
thousands not only of lives but of ships and tons
of the nation's requirements.
I decided to wait — a decision I could not have
reached had I not had the most implicit confidence
in Bonner and his gun's crew: them in particular,
but the whole crew left on board in general — as we
all know what the poop contained in the way of
explosives, and perhaps the whole ship would be
blown up.
At 12:58 the submarine was passing our stern,
and it was now only a matter of seconds before she
would be clear on the weather side and within 400
yards of my three 12-pounder guns (leaving out
the 4-inch). At this instant a terrific explosion took
place and the whole ship shivered. The stern of the
ship was blown out, the 4-inch gun and crew
complete were blown into the air, and now the
railway trucks proved of value in a way I had never
foreseen. All the gun's crew except one landed on
the railway trucks, and the canvas and wood broke
their fall before they reached the iron deck, with
the result that although they were all damaged,
272 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
none of them was killed. The odd man landed in
the water, and was eventually picked up by the
panic party none the worse. The gun itself landed
on the well deck and the shells which had been
round the gun fell all over the ship, one of them by
the bridge, but luckily none of them exploded.
The explosion was the worst of luck. Had it de-
layed a few seconds, I might have had a different
tale to write; but there it was, and the immediate
matter in hand was to face it.
As soon as the explosion took place, the sub-
marine did a crash dive, but not before a couple
of shots had been fired at her, one of which may
possibly have been a hit. The explosion had started
the open fire gongs, and the gun on the boat deck,
which was the only one that would bear, got in a
couple of rounds. From the bridge the bow of the
submarine crossing the stern was the only thing
visible of her at the time of the explosion, but the
whole of her was just visible as she dived, and I
could see that the shots had not done serious — if
any — damage.
IDENTITY REVEALED
The White Ensign was now flying at the mast-
head. The Red Ensign could be seen dangling aft
in the wreckage of the poop, and the gun ports were
down — in fact, we were a man-of-war in all re-
spects. And, without going into the ethics of sub-
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 273
marine warfare, there was no doubt that the sub-
marine was in all respects entitled to sink us or kill
us as best she could. But no further signal for help
was sent, as we still had another card left up our
sleeve, and now was the time to "Q abandon ship."
She knew what we were and I knew that she would
torpedo us.
In the meantime, while waiting to be torpedoed,
there was time for several things to be done. Under
the charge of Surgeon Probationer Fowler, an ex-
cellent young Scotch surgeon, I had the wounded
removed to the saloon and cabins, so as to be out
of the way for the next round, and the hoses were
rigged and turned on the poop. From such ex-
amination as could be made it was apparent that
only the depth charges had exploded and the
magazines were still intact. We could not get very
near, as the whole place was in flames and the
deck red-hot, but we could see that the after part
of the deck had been turned right back, as a piece of
paper might have been, and we could also see one
side of the magazine. Probably the second ex-
plosion had been the remaining three depth charges
— about 900 pounds of T.N.T. and the ready am-
munition beside the 4-inch and 2§-pounder guns.
A SPORTING CHANCE
While the wounded were being removed and
the hoses rigged, there was time to consider if any
274 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
more could be done, other than what we intended,
to decoy our enemy, who I guessed would be extra
wary. Of course, we could have got the men on
board, steamed off, and got away to try again at a
more favourable time after refit. This might have
been the wiser course, but I hardly gave it more than
a second's thought — it savoured of running away.
The only alternative was to wait the inevitable
torpedo and have another attempt to decoy the
submarine to the surface again. It was a sporting
chance, with the odds heavily against us.
To wait on board a ship, with engines stopped and
a fire raging round the big magazine, for a torpedo
to be fired at you was certainly asking for trouble,
but there was a certain amount of humour about it,
and several of us had small bets as to where it
would hit.
We didn't have very long to wait, as at 1:20,
just over twenty minutes since the submarine
had submerged, a torpedo was seen approaching
from the starboard side, fired at a range of about
1,000 yards. We watched its approach, and as this
was the fifth time we had watched the same thing
(there were only one or two men on board who
hadn't been torpedoed before) it left us rather cold.
It hit us with a crash, just abaft the engine room:
the hatches and railway trucks were blown about
the place, and the bulkhead was started between
the hold and the engine room.
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 275
"q abandon ship"
I now ordered "Q abandon ship," and an addi-
tional party of men started a new panic party. The
boat that had been left end up was now lowered
and filled; the original panic party came back and
picked up a few more men, and a raft consisting of
barrels and spars was launched. This matter, we
thought, would increase the realism of it being a
final "abandon ship." Remaining on board were
two 12-pounder guns' crews, two men at the tor-
pedo tubes, four of us on the bridge, the chief and
one stoker and the nine wounded with the doctor —
thirty-four all told, of which twenty-three only
were fit for fighting.
We were now reduced to only two guns. The
crews that I kept back were the one on the fore-
castle under Nisbet, which had a good arc of fire,
and the cabin-gun's crew under Frame, as this
crew, without being seen, could man either the
starboard or port gun. The White Ensign was
already flying, so the signalman had joined in the
"Q abandon ship " party and I kept Hereford on the
bridge with me, at the opposite end to myself,
as I thought that the torpedoes might be required
and either he or I could fire them. Andrews was in
the wireless room, Jack Orr was lying at the wheel
— not that he could have steered if we had wanted
to — but he was not cut out for an action station of
276 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
any sort except at the wheel. Nunn was at his
exchange, by which he could communicate to the
other parts of the ship and I with him either by
shouting or voice pipe.
TRYING MOMENTS
At 1 140 p.m. the periscope of the submarine was
sighted on the starboard bow, and for nearly an
hour she steamed round and round the ship, with
an occasional turn toward the boats, which were
off the port side. It gave me a much-needed op-
portunity of borrowing a box of matches from
Hereford, as my pipe had gone out and I had run
out of them. The dinghy had originally had the
raft in tow, but was drifting a long way away from
the larger lifeboats, and as would be quite natural,
the men on the raft were taken off and crowded into
the other boats, the raft being left adrift. The
submarine appeared to treat this raft with some
suspicion and examine it — perhaps they thought
it was a decoy mine! One of the boats that at one
time had been fairly close to the weather quarter
had an unexpected shower of condensed-milk tins
on it, one of the explosions having blown them
through the stern.
While the submarine was circling round the ship,
the question, of course, came to my mind of trying
to torpedo her. She frequently offered a good tar-
get, but I had no great faith in my torpedoes, and I
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 277
looked on them as a last resort and preferred to
wait a chance of gunfire. I thought that sooner or
later she would be sure to come up.
While this long-drawn-out and very trying in-
spection was going on, the submarine sometimes
coming a few yards off the ship, the fire on the
poop was still raging and the magazine and shells
were exploding in penny numbers; each box of
cordite or shell exploded when it got to the right
temperature and we went through an incessant
banging of small explosions. The water which was
entering the ship was also gaining, and slowly but
surely flooding the ship. Steam in the boilers was
dying out, as the ship being abandoned it would
have been unrealistic to have been seen stoking
up through the funnel. We thereby reduced any
chance of escape.
Thus we waited till at 2 130 the submarine came
to the surface, dead astern of us at a few hundred
yards' distance. The 4-inch gun had gone, the 12-
pounder gun on the boat deck was masked by the
mainmast, and no other gun would bear. It flashed
through my mind to man the boat-deck gun and
shoot away the mainmast, but I realized the time
taken would allow her time to dive. There was
nothing to be done but wait. From her position
right astern she opened fire with her big gun al-
most as soon as she broke surface, and shelled us
for twenty minutes — a most unpleasant experience.
278 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
From my lookout I could see her gun's crew go
through all the motions of loading the gun, could
see it fire, and then waited to see where the shell
would explode; she was apparently firing high ex-
plosive. A Maxim was also firing at the boats and
several of the shots fell very close to them. They
pulled away, but Truscott, who had gone in
charge of the dinghy with the "Q abandon ship"
party, kept as close as he could to the ship, as he
told me afterward things looked ugly and he was
going to save us if he could.
SHELLED
The first shell of all burst on the bridge, smashed
my bathroom, and a large splinter went through
the deck into the saloon, where the wounded were
already having all the discomfort they could. This
shell also removed Orr's cap as he was lying at the
wheel, so I said to him, "Things are getting pretty
warm." "Yes, sir," he replied; "I think I will
change end for end," an expression used when a
rope in a purchase is unrove and rove the other
way, and so he turned right round and an ex-
traordinary thing happened. A large splinter from
the next shell passed between his legs — in other
words, if he hadn't changed end for end he would
have got it in the head and been killed.
A second shell burst on the bridge and removed the
bulkhead which supported Nunn's voice pipes, leav-
"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL" 279
ing them, however, standing, but he remained quite
calm, attending to them and continuing to make
notes.
It was now that our armoured ends of the bridge
were of service, as but for them both Hereford and
I would have been killed, for the plates were cov-
ered with splinters; and, as it was, Hereford got an
unlucky, but happily only a small, one in his head.
During this short but heavy bombardment,
though it was surprising what comparatively little
material damage the submarine did at close range,
a message came up from the forecastle gun to say
one of the men had requested to take his boots off.
This struck me as an extraordinary request, and I
asked the reason why. The reply was the man
thought the end had really come, and he would
sooner die with his boots off.
The shelling lasted only twenty minutes. It was
extremely unpleasant, but the men stood the strain
and no one moved. I reminded them through the
voice pipe that the ship had the honour of the Vic-
toria Cross to maintain. I don't think we could have
stuck it much longer, as it appeared that she would
shell us till we were reduced to a floating furnace, or
else to surrender, which none of us thought of.
At 2:50 she ceased fire and submerged. Just
before this she was within the bearing of one of my
12-pounders, and I was hoping she would come on
a better bearing, but it was not to be.
28o
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
ONLY A PERISCOPE
I thought that now the time had come for us to
use our torpedoes if she again came in range, as she
apparently had no intention of running the slightest
risk at all, and so when she passed the ship again
with only periscope showing at 2:55 at a distance
of about 150 yards, I personally fired the port
torpedo at her, but judging from the track of the
torpedo it must have passed over her. Anyhow,
she didn't see it, and circled round our bow. She
passed so close on this occasion that I thought she
must be damaged and was going to hit us — in fact,
the foremost gun's crew reported she had, but in
reality she hadn't.
I ordered Hereford to fire the starboard torpedo
when she passed down that side. Eight minutes
later this torpedo either failed to explode or
grazed over the top, as we could distinctly hear it
make contact. The submarine heard it, too, and
promptly submerged.
The game was now nearly up and I signalled for
assistance. I thought that she would simply
torpedo us till we sank, and I hurriedly arranged
that, pending the arrival of assistance, we would not
give in, but have a third "abandon ship," and that
when torpedoed all the men remaining were to
abandon ship except one gun's crew.
In the meantime, we were able to get up out of
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"THE FINEST FIGHT OF ALL " 281
our uncomfortable position and admire the scenery.
The men in the boats were surprised to see us,
especially on the bridge, as they thought we must
all be done for, and they cheered with joy. One
man, when he saw me, shouted out in a loud voice :
"My oath, there's the blooming skipper still alive.
Wouldn't the Huns give ninepence an inch for
him?" I was honoured to think my skin was so
valuable!
The next torpedo never came. I have learned
since that the submarine had none left, nor could
she attack us again with gunfire, as, very unex-
pectedly, about half an hour after the submarine
submerged, the U.S.S. Noma, an American yacht,
which knew nothing about us, hove in sight. She
sighted and fired at the periscope without success.
At 4 p.m. the Noma was close alongside. The ac-
tion, which had lasted for nearly five hours, was
now at an end. It had been a fair and square fight
and I had lost, but I had the great consolation of
knowing that if any mistake was made, if anything
was done that ought not to have been done, if
anything was left undone that ought to have been
done, then the only possible person to blame would
be myself. My ship had been perfectly fitted out,
and as for my crew, words can't say what I think-
not a man failed, not a man could have done more.
CHAPTER XV
WITH COLOURS FLYING
"We've Done Our Bit" — Rudderless — Chivalry of
the Sea — End of the " Dunraven" — Ordeal — Enemy's
Point of View — High Honours
We had lost our quarry, and every effort had now
to be made to save the ship. H. M. destroyers
Attack and Christopher arrived immediately after
the Noma.
The boats were recalled to the ship, but our luck
seemed to be thoroughly out, as one boat was
bumped by a destroyer and two men went into the
ditch, but were safely got out. In addition to this,
I found that the strain on the crew who had re-
mained on board lying concealed during practically
five hours' more or less gruel was greater even than
I expected; two of them went temporarily off their
heads, and with difficulty we had to restrain them
from jumping overboard, their only object in life
being to dive overboard and "get at her." It was
very pathetic, but showed the spirit underlying
them all.
The poop had been completely gutted; all the
282
WITH COLOURS FLYING
283
depth charges and contents of the magazines and
shell rooms had exploded. A little smouldering was
still going on, and this was put out by the hoses.
The last thing to explode was a small box of tubes:
I couldn't help laughing, as it seemed so stupid,
after all the explosives we had had, to see a box of
tubes explode like a squib.
"we've done our bit"
After giving the necessary orders to get ready
for towing, and telling the chief to see if he could
raise steam again, I went to the saloon to see the
wounded. Again it is hard to put anything into
words: one man was sipping blood to quench his
thirst, but all were cheerful, and their only ques-
tion was, "Have we got her, sir?" When, to my
everlasting regret, I had to tell them I hadn't,
they said, "We've done our bit," and if ever men
had, they had.
The medical officer of the Noma and the Christo-
pher came over and helped Fowler to attend to
them. The two most dangerous cases, which re-
quired immediate operations, Morrison and Martin-
dale, were transferred to the Noma, and taken with
all dispatch to Brest. I was very grateful for the
great kindness these two men received from the
Americans. Unfortunately, Morrison succumbed
to his wounds; like so many others in the Great
War, he died the death of a brave man. I have
284 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
always thought that we were extraordinarily lucky
in the little loss of life we had, because we were al-
ways asking for trouble.
After the wounded had been transferred, the
Christopher, under Lieutenant-Commander Peters,
D.S.O., D.S.C., started to take us in tow. De-
stroyers are always ready for anything, and it
didn't take long for the Christopher to have every-
thing ready. We, on the other hand, had a great
deal to do, putting the fire out, hoisting boats,
and getting the cables ready on the forecastle.
The crew had been through a severe strain, and I
could see some of them were nearly done, but they
all worked cheerfully, which was half the battle.
Some were physically incapable of doing a great
deal. It must be remembered that it was getting
on toward six o'clock and there had been no meal
since breakfast — nor was much available now.
RUDDERLESS
I had reported briefly by wireless to our c.-in-c.
what had happened, and, with his usual under-
standing and realization of the situation, he sent us
a cheering message: "Hearty congratulations on
your brave fight. Hope ship will be saved. Very
well done." This message inspired us all to further
efforts.
By 6:45 the Christopher had us in tow and course
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WITH COLOURS FLYING 285
was shaped for Plymouth. Towing was very diffi-
cult. The chief had reported that he was unable to
raise steam; the engine and boiler rooms already
had several feet of water in them which was gain-
ing faster than we could pump it out. The result
was we were unable to steer; but apart from having
no steam, the rudder had either gone or was useless
as far as we could ascertain.
A nasty sea was also running and, very slowly
but very surely, the stern went lower and the water
worked its way forward. Most of the crew had a
night's rest, as there was little to be done. But
owing to two of the wireless operators being seri-
ously wounded — Statham as a member of the 2 Im-
pounder and Fletcher at the 4-inch guns, rather
unusual action stations for wireless ratings —
Andrews, the other operator, who had been locked
up in the wireless room throughout the action, had
now to remain permanently on duty. When day-
light came we still had a prospect of getting the
ship in; the stern was under water, and we were
only making a knot or two, but there was no im-
mediate danger of sinking. During the day the
weather got worse and seas began to break over
us from astern; so before dark I decided to transfer
some of the crew to the trawler Foss, which had ar-
rived and was escorting us. So at 6 p.m. sixty odd
men were transferred and I kept twenty on board.
286 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
AS1 the remaining wounded were sent over except
Bonner. He made a special request to be allowed
to stay, and although his head was all in bandages,
I knew what he was feeling and allowed him to stay.
He was unfit for duty, but we gave him a chair on
the bridge and his cheery disposition bucked us all
up. We had practically nothing to eat at all during
this period, as all the storerooms had been in the
poop and everything had of course gone.
At 9 p.m. two tugs, the Sun II and the Atlanta,
arrived, and the tow was transferred to them from
the Christopher . While this operation was taking
place, quite large seas were breaking over the ship,
and it didn't look now as if she could last much
longer. The engine and boiler rooms were full; in
fact nearly two thirds of the ship was under water.
CHIVALRY OF THE SEA
At about 1 130 a.m. I felt the ship was going and
ordered all the crew — now twenty — to fall in on the
well deck forward. By prearranged signal I ordered
the tugs to cast off the tow and the Christopher,
who was now escorting us, to close. In due course
Hereford came to the bridge and reported the
crew fallen in; he did it in just as calm a manner
as if he had been on parade with his beloved
King's Royal Rifles. With him I went forward,
and the ship had now gone so far that we had to
wade through water to get forward at all. I found
WITH COLOURS FLYING 287
the men fallen in, in deadly silence; it was a pitch-
dark night and blowing very fresh. I now witnessed
a sight, by no means uncommon in the annals of
the chivalry of the sea, but one which will long live
in my memory.
The Christopher had closed and was sending her
whaler — an open boat with four or five oars. I
realized that with the heavy sea running it would
be unwise to put more than four men into her, and
I also realized that the boat wouldn't do more than
one trip, so I gave the order, " Four men to get into
the boat only." Not a man moved: they all knew
there would be only one trip, and no one wanted to
go before the other. I therefore had to name four to
go. The water was now rising round us, and I
ordered the remainder to fall in on the forecastle
head. Still complete silence was maintained, except
for the wind and sea.
The Christopher, realizing the situation, bumped
her bow against ours, which was gradually getting
higher out of the water as the ship went end up.
This was a most delicate operation and one requir-
ing great skill and careful handling, as a destroyer's
bows are very thin. She would bump alongside
and then fall off with the sea : each time she bumped
one man would jump, in the darkness, from our
deck to hers, but no man jumped till he had re-
ceived my personal order. Discipline was main-
tained to the end.
288
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
END OF THE "dUNRAVEN"
By the time I got to the bridge of the destroyer
the Dunraven had gone, sinking with her colours
flying. As a sort of last struggle she lay with a few
feet of her stem sticking out of the water. The
Christopher fired a few rounds without effect, and
I then suggested a depth charge. This the Christo-
pher dropped, and at 3:17 a.m. the Dunraven dis-
appeared beneath the waves.
As I put in my report : " I — we — deeply regret the
loss of one of H.M. ships, and still more the escape
of the enemy."
The Christopher took us to Plymouth, where the
Foss with the remainder of my crew was already
bound. Of course, there was not a ghost of a chance
of any salvage, the ship having sunk in some sixty
fathoms. The only optimist was the Postmaster-
General Department, for when I wrote asking for
the replacement of my lost War Savings certifi-
cates, stating how they had been lost, I received a
reply that I must wait six months in case they were
recovered! We had, of course, lost everything, and
I was dumped ashore next morning in all I pos-
sessed, a jersey and trousers with a whistle and
binoculars round my neck. Jack Orr was particu-
larly upset about my brand-new monkey jacket —
my first captain one. He had, unknown to me,
WITH COLOURS FLYING 289
carefully put it away in the dinghy, which was
hoisted near the bridge. This he had done when
we were first taken in tow, as he reckoned the ship
wouldn't see port, and he decided that at all costs
the monkey jacket must be saved. Unluckily,
when the ship went down so rapidly at the end,
the dinghy was, like the other boats, washed away
before it could be used, and Orr's well-intentioned
action and my monkey jacket with it.
As soon as we arrived at Plymouth, my first
thoughts were to proceed to Queenstown to report
to Admiral Bayly. I went to an outfitter for a
uniform to go over in. He would take some time to
make a monkey jacket, but I espied a brand-new
one belonging to a paymaster-commander; it fitted
me except that I couldn't button it up. Anyhow,
I had the stripes altered and took it. I have never
discovered who the paymaster-commander was,
but should he read these lines I hope he will accept
my apologies for any inconvenience he suffered,
and a copy of this book.
I went to Queenstown without telling anyone
where I was going, except the c.-in-c, Plymouth.
I went before I had collected all my crew, which at
the moment were sprinkled between hospital,
barracks, the Foss, and the Christopher.
I found out afterward that my sudden disap-
pearance caused quite a consternation and alarm-
29o MY MYSTERY SHIPS
ist reports got about. Anyhow, they soon found out
where I had gone, and they sent me a telegram
referred to later.
I felt very uncomfortable arriving at Queenstown
with a monkey jacket on that I couldn't button up,
but the admiral soon put me at my ease by walking
through Queenstown with me wearing his undone
also — regardless of what people said or thought.
Before going to Queenstown I had been to see
the men in hospital at Plymouth. They all said the
same thing: "We shall be all right again by the
time you have fitted out a new ship." This came
from one of them just before he was going to have a
dangerous operation, which it was doubtful if he
would survive. Incidentally, he was one of the men
who had had his bath before the action, and he has
told me since that the last he remembers before be-
coming unconscious was hearing the nurse say,
"He's nice and clean"— his own thoughts being
"Coming events."
Imagine, then, my feelings when Admiral Bayly
had me in his office and told me it had been decided
that I was not to go on in this sort of job any
more.
I begged to be allowed to go on. Not only was I
keen on the job myself, but I felt I should be letting
my crew down if I didn't. As I was pleading my
case, a telegram was brought in for me, which read,
" Crew of Dunraven all volunteer for further service
WITH COLOURS FLYING 291
under your command." I showed this to the
admiral, and as far as naval discipline permitted
told him he couldn't stop me going on; but it was of
no avail, and although I almost felt like striking
him, I knew I was in the presence of the finest
c.-in-c. I have ever served under and a man I had
the greatest respect and affection for, and I knew in
my inner heart that his decision must be right, and
so my service in mystery ships was brought to a
close. But I had the privilege of going on with
Admiral Bayly as his flag captain.
The official report had to be seen to. Nunn kept
worrying me to get on with it, and I had to do it
before I went to Queenstown, but my feelings at the
time were that as the submarine had escaped and
our ship sunk, what was the use of hurrying about
it ? I mention this because I often think that, es-
pecially nowadays, with rapid communications of
wireless, etc., the powers that be are often so im-
patient to get reports that they are sometimes
sent without full knowledge of the facts and possi-
bly before the person writing the reports is in the
mood to do so. I know in this case that although,
as on previous occasions, I had all the times of
events at hand from Nunn, in spite of the fact that
his writing platform had been shot away, yet I did
not put in so many details as I should have done
had I been able to wait a day or two — such details
as the final abandoning of the ship.
292
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
ORDEAL
What was I to say about my crew this time?
And what of the after-gun's crew? They had given
every ounce in them which only intense discipline
and loyalty could have produced. A typical example
of this occurred immediately after the big explo-
sion, when Bonner, who had landed on the railway
trucks, crawled on to the bridge. In spite of being
badly wounded in his head and burnt on his hands,
he said to me: "I am sorry, sir, for leaving my gun
without orders. I think I must have been blown
up." He then asked who we were in action with.
When I replied, "A submarine," he said, "Is that
all ? I thought it was at least a battle cruiser." He
didn't remember this incident afterward, but just
like Smith, when he found there was something
wrong he couldn't account for, he came to report
at once. His sense of duty and loyalty must have
been deeply ingrained in his subconscious mind.
I had discovered on investigation that, unknown
to me, at the time of the first big explosion the
communication between the bridge and 4-inch
gun's crew had been broken. They had tried to get
through and report the situation, but, on finding
they were out of reach with me, Bonner and his
gallant crew made the same decision I had made,
that they must wait where they were, as had they
moved they would have spoiled the show, since
WITH COLOURS FLYING 293
the ship had already been abandoned and no one
was supposed to be on board. This act of theirs,
then, was entirely on their own; they had had no
prompting from me and no words of encourage-
ment. Perhaps it will show the complete confidence
that I had in my crew and I think that they had in
me.
They sat on the deck when it was getting red-
hot, and knowing the magazines were underneath,
one young fellow — I think it was Martindale— tore
up his shirt to stuff up their mouths to keep the
fumes out; others lifted the ready-use boxes of
cordite off the deck on to their knees to delay their
exploding. They knew all the time they must be
blown up, and they also knew that if they moved
they might spoil the show. I could only say that I
thought, "Surely such bravery is hard to equal!"
They went through the greatest ordeal, but the
others on board had also a most trying time. Those
who read can imagine better than I can write what
the strain was. A ship alone in the Bay of Biscay,
on fire, torpedoed, depth charges exploded, and
magazines going off at odd intervals, and still the
men remaining concealed at their posts. I at least
could see more or less what was going on, but
they couldn't. I said in my report that "the tactics
I carried out were only possible through the utmost
confidence I had in my ship and my crew," and I
summed up the feelings of us all when I said,
294 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
"We did our best not only to destroy the enemy
and then save the ship, but also to show ourselves
worthy of the Victoria Cross the King recently be-
stowed on the ship."
enemy's point of view
The German account of this action does not differ
materially from my own. Apparently the submarine
did not suspect us in any way until the big explo-
sion took place — up till then she thought she had
really hit us in the engine room and that the
" steam" was the result. She apparently didn't see
our first "abandon ship," perhaps owing to the
steam or smoke, but she saw the second and counted
fifty-seven men, which was about right. She claimed
to have scored ten hits in her close-range bom-
bardment, and when going round the ship after-
ward to see if any life was aboard saw none.
Apparently she heard the second torpedo pass
close to her periscope, but had none left herself for
a further attack. I am sorry that Salzwedel, the
commander of the submarine, was killed later in
another submarine, and, as it happens, our sub-
marine U.C-71 also came to grief.
The German account pays tribute to the endur-
ance of the crew of the Dunraven, and admits that,
in spite of the great care of the submarine com-
mander, he was also saved by its greater luck —
though even after he knew what we were we had a
WITH COLOURS FLYING 295
chance with our torpedoes, which he apparently
didn't know about.
It would have been of great interest to have been
able to meet Commander Salzwedel and compared
notes, as it was a good scrap, and there would have
been many points of interest.
HIGH HONOURS
The Admiralty conveyed to us their Lordships'
admiration of the magnificent discipline and gal-
lantry displayed in this fine action, and although
the regulation didn't admit of the grant of the full
£1,000 being made, the ship was awarded the
special grant of £300. Admiral Sims, of the U.S.
Navy, sent me a letter which we much appreciated,
coming from a great allied commander. In it he
said:
I have had the benefit of reading some of the reports of
your previous exploits, but in my opinion this fight of the
Dunraven's is the finest of them all as a military action and
the most deserving of complete success. It is purely incidental
that the submarine escaped: that was simply due to an un-
fortunate piece of bad luck. The engagement, judged as a skil-
ful fight, and not measured solely by its material results,
seems to me to have been perfectly successful. . . . According
to my idea of such matters, the standard of conduct set by
you and your crew is worth infinitely more than the destruc-
tion of a submarine. Long after we are dust and ashes, the
story of this fight will be an invaluable inspiration to British
and American naval officers and men— a demonstration of
the extraordinary degree to which the patriotism, loyalty,
personal devotion, and bravery of a crew may be inspired.
296 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
I know nothing finer in naval history than the conduct of
the after-gun crew or, indeed, of the entire crew of the Dun-
raven. ... I beg you to believe that I and the officers under
my command are deeply sensible of the value of the demon-
stration that there is no limit to the sacrifice that the men of
your Navy are willing to make for the great cause.
The First Lord of the Admiralty — Sir Eric
Geddes — sent for me on leaving the Q-ship trade
and handed me a hand-signed letter, which he had
very kindly had photographed to enable a copy to
be given to each member of the crew. It read :
Dear Captain Campbell,
It is with very great pleasure that I convey to you, by
the direction of the War Cabinet, an expression of their high
appreciation of the gallantry, skill, and devotion to duty
which have been displayed through many months of arduous
service by yourself and the officers and men of His Majesty's
ship under your command.
In conveying to you this message of the War Cabinet,
which expresses the high esteem with which the conduct of
your officers and men is regarded by His Majesty's Govern-
ment, I wish to add on behalf of the Board of Admiralty that
they warmly endorse this commendation.
Will you please convey this message to all ranks and rat-
ings under your command?
Yours very truly,
{Signed) Eric Geddes.
The greatest honour came, as usual, at the hands
of H. M. the King: Lieutenant Bonner was awarded
the Victoria Cross, which was also awarded to the
after-gun's crew under Article 13 of the Statutes
of the Victoria Cross. Petty Officer Pitcher, the
captain of the gun, was selected to receive it, and
WITH COLOURS FLYING 297
the remainder of the crew were awarded the Con-
spicuous Gallantry Medal. A posthumous C.G.M.
was also awarded to Seaman Morrison, and in
addition to special awards for this action, all the
men who had served throughout since October,
191 5, and had not been previously decorated re-
ceived the D.S.M. These awards and others ap-
pear at the end of this chapter, and H. M. the
King, in making them, stated that "greater
bravery than was shown by all officers and men on
this occasion can hardly be conceived."
On August 24th we paid off. On the last Sunday
of our brief commission we attended the Parade
Service at the church of the naval barracks,
Devonport, and with the consent of the commo-
dore—now Vice-Admiral Corbett, C.B.— our en-
sign, which we had had in our three ships, was car-
ried up the aisle by Truscott, and after being con-
secrated was deposited in the church, being hoisted
by him on a specially erected staff, in the presence
of us all.
Many who read this will know what it means to
say good-bye to a crew who have gone through tight
corners with you. In a quiet corner of the barracks
I took leave of my very gallant crew. No applause,
no cheers; when men have faced death together
this sort of thing is out of place. My personal
feelings I leave to imagination. A finer crew no
man has ever had the honour to command, but as
298 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
I told the officers and men in the Tiger, the last
ship I was privileged to command, that equally
fine crews could always be found, based on loyalty,
discipline, and self-sacrifice — the final and acid
test being war.
List of Awards After Action with U.C.-71
Victoria Cross
Lieutenant C. G. Bonner, D.S.C., R.N.R.,
wounded.
Petty Officer Ernest Pitcher, wounded.
Second Bar to the Distinguished Service Order
Captain Gordon Campbell, V.C., D.S.O., R.N.
Distinguished Service Order
Assistant-Paymaster Reginald A. Nunn, D.S.C.,
R.N.R.
Bar to Distinguished Service Cross
Lieutenant Francis R. Hereford, D.S.O., D.S.C.,
R.N.R. , wounded.
Engineer-Sub-Lieutenant James W. Grant, D.S.C.,
R.N.R.
Engineer-Lieutenant Leonard S. Loveless, D.S.O.,
D.S.C., R.N.R.
WITH COLOURS FLYING 299
Distinguished Service Cross
Warrant Telegraphist Allan Andrews, D.S.M.,
R.N.R.
Surgeon Probationer A. C. Fowler, R.N.V.R.
Sub-Lieutenant W. H. Frame, R.N.R.
The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
The After-Gun's Crew
A. B. Dennis Murphy, wounded.
A. B. Richard W. Shepherd.
Seaman William H. Bennison, R.N.R., wounded.
Seaman John Stephen Martindale, R.N.R.,
wounded.
Wireless Telegraph Operator Thomas E. Fletcher,
R.N.R., wounded.
Seaman James Thompson, R.N.R.
Seaman Alex. S. Morrison, R.N.R., died of wounds.
Bar to Distinguished Service Medal
beaman W. Williams, V.C., R.N.R.
Leading Seaman John G. Orr, R.N.R.
Signalman Charles W. Hurrell, R.N.V.R.
Distinguished Service Medal
Stoker John Cook, R.N.R.
Wireless Telegraph Operator William Statham,
R. N. R., wounded.
Leading Seaman Edward Cooper.
300 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
Stoker William O'Leary, R.N.R.
Petty Officer Samuel Nance.
Seaman Benjamin Haynes, R.N.R.
Stoker Robert Thomson, R.N.R.
Seaman David Dow, R.N.R.
Stoker Thomas Owen, R.N.R.
Officer Steward William R. Trickey.
Assistant Steward Arthur Pennal.
Seaman Martin Connors, R.N.R.
Leading Seaman A. Kaye, R.N.R.
Seaman F. Dodd, R.N.R.
Stoker J. Colenso.
Stoker W. Crosbie.
Leading Stoker T. J. Davies, R.N.R.
Shipwright W. J. Smart.
Wireman S. A. Woodison.
Chief Steward A. E. Townshend.
Seaman P. Murphy, R.N.R.
Mentioned in Dispatches
Lieutenant Richard Nisbet, D.S.C., R.N.R.
A. B. F. Hawkins.
A. B. B. Harris.
A. B. W. Bethell.
A. B. J. Dineen.
A. B. H. Pearson.
A. B. J. Parker.
A. B. T. Lester.
Petty Officer G. Warren.
WITH COLOURS FLYING 301
Leading Seaman Ernest A. Veale, D.S.M., R.N.R.
Seaman Robert Pitt, R.N.R.
Seaman Alphonso Davies, R.N.R.
Seaman George Rees, R.N.R.
Chief Petty Officer George Henry Truscott, D.S.M.
Promoted to Warrant Officer
Chief Petty Officer George Henry Truscott, D.S.M.
SUMMARY
It may appear to the reader of the foregoing chap-
ters that an enormous amount of effort was used to
destroy three submarines — in fact, in obtaining
these three destructions one merchant ship was
beached, one put into dry-dock, and one sunk.
It is only by comparison that a more correct es-
timate can be made. During the whole of the war
only 200 German submarines were destroyed, and
of these only 145 are known to be due to our own
action, and include the more ordinary methods
(though opportunities were few) of men-of-war
ramming submarines, like the case of the
Birmingham.
If we think of the enormous anti-submarine effort
made — some 5,000 auxiliary craft employed, thou-
sands of mines, guns, depth charges, and bombs,
miles of nets, vast convoy systems, and many other
contrivances and contraptions — to obtain this 145,
then it may be realized that to encircle and destroy
a submarine is not such an easy thing as may ap-
pear to the armchair critic.
Over 180 mystery ships of all sorts were fitted
out, and the number of submarines to their credit
was eleven. In addition to the three we obtained,
302
SUMMARY 303
two were credited to the Penskurst, under Capt.
F. H. Grenfell, D.S.O., R.N., who, like us, had six
encounters, and but for ill luck would have obtained
more successes, though this applies to most mystery
ships. Again, it may appear that it took a long time
even to sight a submarine; this to a great extent is
true, and the waiting and watching was a long and
tedious affair. But, on the other hand, if one elimi-
nates the period when there were no submarines
about, although at the time we could not know it,
such as the winter of 1915-1916, or the period up
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and further to eliminate
the times in harbour refitting or fitting out, I have
estimated that we sighted a submarine once in
every ten days. In other words, when the subma-
rines were there to be found, we, by attempting to
keep in the danger zone, could expect to get in
touch every ten days; this was due largely to hav-
ing the right type of ship, and keeping to sea as
long and as often as possible.
But one may ask whether all the large number of
mystery ships fitted out were worth the lives, the
money, and the ships to obtain the results.
It must be remembered that the actual destruc-
tion of the enemy was always the chief object in
view, but the work of the mystery ships didn't end
there; in addition to the eleven destroyed, some
sixty or so were probably damaged to a greater or
smaller extent, with the result that they would be
3o4 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
put hors de combat for some time, and the nerves
of the men would probably be shaken. One can
easily imagine that it must be a bit of a shock to be
lying off a harmless-looking tramp or sailing ship
and suddenly find you are up against a man-of-war
bristling with guns.
I have already explained in Chapter II the differ-
erent methods of attack with their advantages and
disadvantages. It must, therefore, be obvious that
when a submarine began to realize that each
time she came to the surface she was liable to at-
tack in the early days from a mystery ship and in
the latter days from the armed convoy, her safest
method of attack (until the coming of the 5.9)
would be the torpedo, a certain and deadly way of
destroying a ship, but at a tremendous price of
nerve, money, and time.
Some people may argue that the mystery ship, by
encouraging the submarine to use the torpedo
instead of the gun, caused more harm than good,
as the merchant ship attacked by a gun obviously
had more chance of escape than if torpedoed. On
the other hand, as has been explained, the subma-
rine would have fewer chances of attack, and when
she had run through her torpedoes would have to
return by a very circuitous route round the British
Isles back to Germany, unless she chanced the
Strait of Dover, which at the latter part of the
war anyhow was not becoming any more attractive.
SUMMARY 305
This again would reduce the number of submarines
operating at any one time.
The whole subject is so full of pros and cons that
it would take a long time to come, even if one could,
to an answer that would be agreeable to everyone,
and this is probably the reason that the Admiralty
were so slow in adopting the mystery ship as a
definite policy.
The fact remains that they accounted for over
7 per cent, of the known destructions — this in spite
of the fact that they were not used in large numbers
till the secret was out. The effect on morale cannot
be estimated, but it must have been very great.
One thing appears to me to stand out quite
clearly, and that is if you have a new invention or
surprise it is a mistake to use it until you are ready
to do it on a big scale. The mystery ships were only
used in penny numbers at first, and as it was obvi-
ous that sooner or later an unsuccessful action
would take place, it would also be obvious that the
secrecy of them was bound to leak out, making
their chances of success increasingly difficult. This
is borne out by looking at the dates of the sinking
of enemy submarines by mystery ships.
No. Date Name of Mystery Ship
U-36 .... July 24, 1915. Prince Charles.
U-27 .... August 19, 1915. Bar along.
U-41 .... September 24, 1915. Baralong.
U-68 .... March 22, 1916. Farnborough.
U.B.-19 . . . November 30, 1916. Q-7 {Penshursi).
MY MYSTERY SHIPS
No.
U.B.-37
U-83
U-85
U-88
U-34
U.C.-29
Date Name of Mystery Ship
January 14, I9I7- Q"7 (Penshurst).
February 17, 1917- Q"S (Farnborough).
March 12, 1917- Qr^9 (Privet).
June 7, 191 7. Par gust.
September 17, 1917- Stonecrop.
November 9, 191 8. Privet.
The Privet, under Lieutenant-Commander Ma-
theson, R.N.R., had the distinction as Q-19 of sink-
ing a submarine on March 12th; and on her way
back to harbour, badly holed and leaking, she sank
outside Plymouth, was raised by Devonport Dock-
yard, refitted, and served again. As one would
expect, in consequence, this last action was an
extraordinarily smart bit of work, and I believe it
was one of the very few night actions of a mystery
ship; but it could hardly come under the heading
of decoy, as it was more of a destroyer action, after
the submarine had been discovered by a motor
launch, the Privet coming in with seven depth
charges in addition to gunfire.
Many deductions can always be made from
statistics, and if you juggle them about enough you
can generally come to any conclusion you wish.
But it is interesting to note that, in 1915, when
there were merely a handful of mystery ships, three
successes were obtained. Supposing, instead of two
or three mystery ships operating (I am not includ-
ing the local and fishing decoy) there had been
about thirty, as there were in 1917. It is not too
SUMMARY 307
much to suggest that the whole Submarine Menace
might have been avoided. Had the Germans lost
some 50 per cent, of their submarines in the first
three months of their attack on shipping by some
unknown method, it would probably have made all
the difference.
In 1917 only five successes were obtained (two
of them by the novel method of being torpedoed
first, and therefore a new secret), out of all propor-
tion to 191 5, when the mystery ships available were
only about one sixth of those in 1917. Toward the
latter part of 1917 the mystery ship seems to have
had its day. The introduction of the convoy system
meant that nearly all ships sailed in convoys, and
so a mystery ship cruising about in the Atlantic
by itself would have, by the very fact of being
alone, caused suspicion, unless able to convince the
then wary enemy that it had fallen out of a con-
voy. This was an unlikely chance, and the only
mystery vessels that stood any chance were of the
coasting type, such as the Stockforce, which fought
the last and well-known action under Lieutenant-
Commander Auten, V.C., R.N.R. What were
known as Q-sloops still had their use, as they had
a good turn of speed, which enabled them to drop
depth charges and so to some extent counteract
the fact that they only looked like merchant ships
at a distance; also they were particularly useful in
conjunction with the convoys.
3o8 MY MYSTERY SHIPS
The decline in the successes of mystery ships,
compared with the increase of number used, can,
I think, be summed up in: (i) the mystery having
leaked out before the numbers were available;
(2) the introduction of convoy which, so far as the
important point of safetyof shippingwas concerned,
more than counterbalanced the disappearance of
the mystery ships; (3) the introduction of camou-
flage, which prevented a mystery ship frequently
changing her appearance.
Another point of interest is that all the ships re-
ferred to on pages 305, 306 were (with the exception
of the Prince Charles, a coastal steam collier of 400
tons) of the ordinary steamer type with tonnages
varying from 800 to over 3,000 tons. To make com-
parison between the armament of the first and last:
the Prince Charles, under Lieut. Mark Wardlaw,
D.S.O., had an armament of two 6-pounders and
two 3-pounders; the Stonecrop, under Commander
M. Blackwood, was armed with one 4-inch gun,
one 6-pounder, four submerged 18-inch torpedo
tubes, and four 200-pound bomb throwers. Even
this would have been of doubtful use against the
enemy's heavily armed cruiser submarines.
Will the mystery ship be used again? Such a
question cannot be answered; but one thing is quite
certain, that just as when man fights another he
will always try some feint to throw his opponent
off as to his real intentions while he gets in his
SUMMARY 309
blow elsewhere, so in any war some form of decep-
tion or decoy will be used by sea, air, and land, and
if anyone has ideas for such in future wars, he will
be wise to keep his mystery to himself until it can
be used with the maximum chance of success.
Whatever new mysteries may be thought of, one
thing is certain — the Empire can always produce
the men required. ,/
APPENDIX
EXTRACTS FROM
SECOND SUPPLEMENT
TO
THE LONDON "GAZETTE"
Of Tuesday, November ig, igi8
{Published by Authority)
(By permission of H.M. Stationery Office)
Admiralty, November 20, igi8
With reference to announcements of the award of the
Victoria Cross to naval officers and men for services in
action with enemy submarines, the following are the ac-
counts of the actions for which these awards were made:
(1) Action of H.M.S. Q-§ on February 17, IQIJ.
On February 17, 1917, H.M.S. Q-5, under the com-
mand of Commander Campbell, D.S.O., R.N., was
struck by a torpedo abreast of N0.3 hold. Action stations
were sounded and the "panic party" abandoned ship.
The engineer officer reported that the engine room was
flooding, and was ordered to remain at his post as long as
possible, which he and his staff, several of whom were
severely wounded, most gallantly did. The submarine
was observed on the starboard quarter 200 yards distant
watching the proceedings through her periscope. She ran
past the ship on the starboard side so closely that the
whole hull was visible beneath the surface, finally emerg-
ing about 300 yards on the port bow. The enemy came
down the port side of the ship, and fire was withheld
113
3i4 APPENDIX
until all guns could bear at point-blank range. The first
shot beheaded the captain of the submarine as he was
climbing out of the conning tower, and the submarine
finally sank with conning tower open and crew pouring
out. One officer and one man were rescued on the surface
and taken prisoner, after which the boats were recalled
and all hands proceeded to do their utmost to keep the
ship afloat. A wireless signal for assistance had been sent
out when (but not until) the fate of the submarine was
assured, and a destroyer and sloop arrived a couple of
hours later and took Q-5 in tow. She was finally beached
in safety the following evening.
The action may be regarded as the supreme test of
naval discipline. The chief engineer and engine-room
watch remained at their posts to keep the dynamo work-
ing until driven out by the water, then remaining con-
cealed on top of the cylinders. The guns' crews had to
remain concealed in their gun houses for nearly half an
hour, while the ship slowly sank lower in the water.
(The award of the Victoria Cross to Commander
Gordon Campbell, D.S.O., R.N., was announced in the
London Gazette No. 30029, dated April 21, 1917O
Action of H. M.S. " Par gust" on June 7, 1917.
On June 7, 1917, while disguised as a British merchant
vessel with a dummy gun mounted aft, H.M.S. Pargust
was torpedoed at very close range. Her boiler room,
engine room, and No. 5 hold were immediately flooded,
and the starboard lifeboat was blown to pieces. The
weather was misty at the time, fresh breeze, and a
choppy sea. The "panic party," under the command of
Lieutenant F. R. Hereford, D.S.C., R.N.R., abandoned
ship, and as the last boat was shoving off, the periscope
of the submarine was observed close before the port
APPENDIX
3*5
beam about 400 yards distant. The enemy then sub-
merged, and periscope reappeared directly astern, pass-
ing to the starboard quarter, and then round to the port
beam, when it turned again toward the ship, breaking
surface about 50 yards away. The lifeboat, acting as a
lure, commenced to pull round the stern, submarine
followed closely; and Lieutenant Hereford, with com-
plete disregard of the danger incurred from fire of either
ship or submarine (who had trained a Maxim on the life-
boat) continued to decoy her to within 50 yards of the
ship. The Pargust then opened fire with all guns, and
the submarine, with oil squirting from her side and the
crew pouring out of the conning tower, steamed slowly
across the bows with a heavy list. The enemy crew held
up their hands in token of surrender, whereupon fire
immediately ceased. The submarine then began to move
away at a gradually increasing speed, apparently en-
deavouring to escape in the mist. Fire was reopened until
she sank, one man clinging to the bow as she went down.
The boats, after a severe pull to windward, succeeded
in saving one officer and one man. American destroyers
and a British sloop arrived shortly afterward, and the
Pargust was towed back to port. As on the previous
occasions, officers and men displayed the utmost cour-
age and confidence in their captain, and the action
serves as an example of what perfect discipline, when
coupled with such confidence, can achieve.
(The award of the Victoria Cross to Lieutenant
Ronald Neil Stuart, D.S.O., R.N.R., and Seaman
William Williams, R.N.R., O.N., 6224A., was announced
in the London Gazette No. 30194, dated July 20, 1917.)
Action of H.M.S. " Dunraven" on August 8, iqi8.
On August 8, 1917, H.M.S. Dunraven, under the
3I6 APPENDIX
command of Captain Gordon Campbell, V.C., D.S.O.,
R.N., sighted an enemy submarine on the horizon.
In her role of armed British merchant ship, the Dun-
raven continued her zigzag course, whereupon the sub-
marine closed, remaining submerged to within 5,000
yards, and then, rising to the surface, opened fire. The
Dunraven returned the fire with her merchant-ship gun,
at the same time reducing speed to enable the enemy to
overtake her. Wireless signals were also sent out for the
benefit of the submarine: "Help! come quickly— sub-
marine chasing and shelling me." Finally, when the
shells began falling close, the Dunraven stopped and
abandoned ship by the "panic party." The ship was
then being heavily shelled, and on fire aft. In the mean-
time, the submarine closed to 400 yards distant, partly
obscured from view by the dense clouds of smoke issuing
from the Dunraven s stern. Despite the knowledge
that the after magazine must inevitably explode if he
waited, and further, that a gun and gun's crew lay con-
cealed over the magazine, Captain Campbell decided
to reserve his fire until the submarine had passed clear of
the smoke. A moment later, however, a heavy explosion
occurred aft, blowing the gun and gun's crew into the
air, and accidentally starting the fire gongs at the re-
maining gun positions; screens were immediately
dropped, and the only gun that would bear opened fire,
but the submarine, apparently frightened by the ex-
plosion, had already commenced to submerge. Realizing
that a torpedo must inevitably follow, Captain Camp-
bell ordered the surgeon to remove all wounded and
conceal them in cabins; hoses were also turned on the
poop, which was a mass of flames. A signal was sent out
warning men-of-war to divert all traffic below the hon-
APPENDIX
3*7
zon in order that nothing should interrupt the final
phase of the action. Twenty minutes later a torpedo
again struck the ship abaft the engine room. An addi-
tional party of men were again sent away as a "panic
party" and left the ship to outward appearances com-
pletely abandoned, with the White Ensign flying and
guns unmasked. For the succeeding fifty minutes the
submarine examined the ship through her periscope.
During this period boxes of cordite and shells exploded
every few minutes, and the fire on the poop still blazed
furiously. Captain Campbell and the handful of officers
and men who remained on board lay hidden during this
ordeal. The submarine then rose to the surface astern,
where no guns could bear, and shelled the ship closely
for twenty minutes. The enemy then submerged and
steamed past the ship 150 yards off, examining her
through the periscope. Captain Campbell decided then
to fire one of his torpedoes, but missed by a few inches.
The submarine crossed the bows and came slowly down
the other side, whereupon a second torpedo was fired
and missed again. The enemy observed it and immedi-
ately submerged. Urgent signals for assistance were
immediately sent out, but pending arrival of assistance
Captain Campbell arranged for a third "panic party"
to jump overboard if necessary and leave one gun's
crew on board for a final attempt to destroy the enemy,
should he again attack. Almost immediately afterward,
however, British and American destroyers arrived on
the scene, the wounded were transferred, boats were
recalled, and the fire extinguished. The Dunraven, al-
though her stern was awash, was taken in tow, but the
weather grew worse, and early the following morning
she sank with colours flying.
3l8 APPENDIX
(The award of the Victoria Cross to Lieutenant
Charles George Bonner, D.S.C., R.N.R., and Petty
Officer Ernest Pitcher, O.N. 227029, Po., was announced
in the London Gazette No. 30363, dated November 2,
1917.)
I 1 27?
Cl 5^
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20M-3-4B DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
9^0.9 STATE LIBRARY
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